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Project Finance Brief: Recurrent Secures Financing for 100 MW Solar Project

Blended Finance Key to India’s Transition to Clean Energy: IFC


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					</table><p><a href="https://sprngenergy.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Sprng Energy</a>, <a href="https://www.ibvogt.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ib vogt</a>, <a href="http://www.hindujarenewables.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Hinduja Renewables</a>, and Solarcraft Power India 9 (Blupine Energy) have won Gujarat Urja Vikas Nigam’s (GUVNL) auction to supply power from 500 MW of grid-connected solar power projects (Tranche XVIII) with a greenshoe option of an additional 500 MW.</p>
<p>Sprng Energy won 200 MW by quoting ₹2.51 (~$0.031)/kWh. ib vogt, Hinduja, and Blupine won 130 MW, 120 MW, and 50 MW, respectively, at ₹2.52 (~$0.031)/kWh.</p>
<p><a href="https://mercomindia.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/GUVNL-Tranche-XVIII-500-MW-auction-3.png"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="aligncenter wp-image-48663 size-full" src="https://mercomindia.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/GUVNL-Tranche-XVIII-500-MW-auction-3.png" alt="GUVNL Tranche XVIII 500 MW auction" width="785" height="261" srcset="https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/GUVNL-Tranche-XVIII-500-MW-auction-3.png 785w, https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/GUVNL-Tranche-XVIII-500-MW-auction-3-300x100.png 300w, https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/GUVNL-Tranche-XVIII-500-MW-auction-3-768x255.png 768w, https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/GUVNL-Tranche-XVIII-500-MW-auction-3-650x216.png 650w, https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/GUVNL-Tranche-XVIII-500-MW-auction-3-624x207.png 624w, https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/GUVNL-Tranche-XVIII-500-MW-auction-3-600x199.png 600w" sizes="(max-width: 785px) 100vw, 785px" /></a></p>
<p>The discovered tariff of ₹2.51 (~$0.031)/kWh is just marginally higher than the bid of ₹2.49 (~$0.031)/kWh, <a href="https://mercomindia.com/blupine-engie-tata-power-upc-winners-guvnls-750-mw-solar-auction/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">discovered</a> in GUVNL’s auction in September 2022, to develop 750 MW of solar projects with a greenshoe option of an additional capacity of up to 750 MW (Tranche XVI).</p>
<p>The lowest-ever price <a href="https://mercomindia.com/gujarats-auction-sets-a-new-record/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">discovered</a> in GUVNL’s solar auction was ₹1.99 (~$0.024)/kWh in December 2020 for 500 MW of solar projects (Tranche XI).</p>
<p>GUVNL intends to procure solar power to fulfill its renewable power purchase obligation and meet the requirements of distribution companies.</p>
<p>The tender was <a href="https://mercomindia.com/guvnl-bids-buy-power-500-mw-solar-greenshoe-option/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">floated</a> in October last year.</p>
<p>The projects can be commissioned anywhere in the country and should be of at least 25 MW capacity.</p>
<p>The developers must bear all the transmission charges and losses up to the delivery point for interstate and central transmission utility network-connected projects.</p>
<p>The project should be designed to deliver energy at the Gujarat Energy Transmission Corporation (GETCO) periphery. The grid interconnection of the project with GETCO or the central transmission utility substation can be made directly through a dedicated line or a pooling substation of a wind farm where wind projects are also connected.</p>
<p>Only commercially established and operational technologies can be used to minimize the technology risk and achieve the projects’ timely commissioning. The modules to be used for the project should be from the approved list of models and manufacturers issued by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy.</p>
<p>Solar tenders floated by various agencies in India <a href="https://mercomindia.com/solar-tenders-auctions-decline-q4-2022/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">declined</a> 32% quarter-over-quarter to 9.7 GW in the fourth quarter of 2022 from 14 GW. Tender announcements were, however, up by 56% year-over-year.</p>
<p>The quarter also witnessed a 50% QoQ dip in solar auctions, with 1.9 GW of capacity auctioned during the period. The capacity auctioned dropped 56% over the same period last year.</p>
<p>According to Mercom’s <a href="https://mercomindia.com/product/india-solar-tender-tracker/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">India Solar Tender Tracker</a>, GUVNL has floated tenders for 11.5 GW of solar projects.</p>
<div class="saboxplugin-wrap" itemtype="http://schema.org/Person" itemscope itemprop="author"><div class="saboxplugin-tab"><div class="saboxplugin-gravatar"></div><div class="saboxplugin-authorname"><a href="https://cms.mercomindia.com/author/arjun-joshi/" class="vcard author" rel="author"><span class="fn">Arjun Joshi</span></a></div><div class="saboxplugin-desc"><div itemprop="description"><div class="designboxt">
<p><img class="alignleft" style="border-radius: 50%;height: 50px;margin-top: -4px;border: 1px solid #00b451" src="https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Arjun-Joshi-1.png" width="50" /></p>
<p><strong style="text-decoration: underline">Arjun Joshi,</strong> Staff reporter at Mercom India<br />
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<p><img class="alignleft" src="https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Arjun-Joshi-1.png" width="86" height="102" /><a href="https://mercomindia.com/author/arjun-joshi/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong style="color: #00b451">Arjun Joshi</strong> </a>is a staff reporter at Mercom India. Before joining Mercom, he worked as a technical writer for enterprise resource software companies based in India and abroad. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Journalism, Psychology, and Optional English from Garden City University, Bangalore. <a href="https://mercomindia.com/author/arjun-joshi" target="_blank" rel="noopener">More articles from Arjun Joshi.</a></p>
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Sprng Energy, ib vogt, Hinduja, Blupine Win GUVNL’s 500 MW Solar Auction


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					</table><p>From: <a href="https://mercomcapital.com/project-finance-brief-atlas-renewable-raises/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Mercom Capital Group</a></p>
<p><strong>Atlas Renewable Energy, a clean energy solutions provider, </strong><a href="https://www.atlasrenewableenergy.com/en/atlas-renewable-energy-secures-bndes-first-us-dollar-loan-for-a-renewable-energy-project-in-brazil-2/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>secured</strong></a><strong> a loan of $210 million from Banco Nacional de Desenvolvimento Econômico e Social</strong> to finance its 438 MW Boa Sorte solar project. The project will be built in Paracatu, in the State of Minas Gerais, Brazil, and is a joint venture between Atlas, Hydro Rein, and the client under a self-production contract to supply 12% of the client&#8217;s annual power consumption.</p>
<p><strong>Enefit Green, a publicly traded renewable energy company, </strong><a href="https://enefitgreen.ee/en/uudised/Enefit-Green-kaasas-seni-suurimas-mahus-laenuraha" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>signed</strong></a><strong> agreements with SEB and the Nordic Investment Bank for €325 million (~$348 million)</strong> worth of loans to help build its Sopi-Tootsi, Kelme I, and Tolpanvaara wind farms in Estonia, Lithuania, and Finland, as well as its Purtse solar project in Estonia. The total amount loaned from SEB is up to €225 million (~$241 million) for seven years. The size of the loan signed with the Nordic Investment Bank (NIB) is €100 million (~$107 million) and the loan period is 12 years.</p>
<p><strong>Green Genius, a renewable energy project developer, and the Poland-based mBank</strong> <a href="https://greengenius.com/news/69mw-transaction-poland/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>agreed</strong></a> on a transaction worth PLN 220 million ($50 million) to build 69 MW solar projects in Poland. mBank has so far invested over PLN 1 billion ($227 million) in large-scale solar projects. By 2025, the company intends to earmark as much as PLN 10 billion (~$2.28 billion) for the financing of RES, electromobility, and recycling.</p>
<p><strong>ib Vogt, a global solar project developer, </strong><a href="https://www.ibvogt.com/home/vogt-news/ib-vogt-sells-206-mwp-turnkey-solar-project-in-finland.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>sold</strong></a><strong> a 206 MW solar photovoltaic project to the Finnish energy company Helen. The solar project is located in Kalanti, Uusikaupunki, in South-West Finland</strong>, and is ready to be built. The project would consist of more than 380,000 high-capacity bifacial solar modules built on a fixed-tilt substructure for optimal performance.</p>
<p><strong>BayWa r.e., a full-service provider of renewable energy, </strong><a href="https://www.baywa-re.com/en/news/details/baywa-re-sells-pv-portfolio-of-115-mwp-in-spain" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>sold</strong></a><strong> a solar photovoltaic portfolio consisting of three solar projects with a total capacity of 115 MW to L&amp;G NTR Clean Power Fund managed by </strong>Legal &amp; General Investment Management (LGIM), a global asset manager, and NTR, a renewable energy specialist. Two solar projects will be situated in the Castilla la Mancha region. The third project consists of two installations, which will be located near Granada in the Andalusia region.</p>
<p><strong>OX2, a solar and wind project developer, </strong><a href="https://mercomcapital.com/ox2-acquires-solar-projects-spain/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>signed</strong></a><strong> an agreement to acquire a portfolio of six solar power projects in Spain with a total capacity of 152 MW. </strong>The projects are in Andalusia, which is the area in Spain with the highest level of solar radiation. All the acquired projects have obtained environmental permits and they will be included as late-stage projects in the OX2 development portfolio from the fourth quarter of 2022.</p>
<p>Click <a href="https://mercomcapital.com/clean-energy-reports/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a> for reports and trackers on funding and M&amp;A transactions in solar, energy storage, smart grid, and efficiency sectors.</p>
<p>Read last week&#8217;s project finance <a href="https://mercomindia.com/project-finance-brief-mytilineos-raises-159-million-for-solar-projects/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">brief</a>.</p>
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Project Finance Brief: Atlas Renewable Raises $210 Million for 438 MW Solar Project


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					</table><p>Here are some noteworthy cleantech announcements of the day from around the world:</p>
<p><strong>The Uttar Pradesh Government approved the &#8216;Solar Energy Policy, 2022,</strong><strong>&#8216; revising its proposed target upwards to 22 GW of solar capacity by FY 2026-27. </strong><strong>The government had </strong><a href="https://mercomindia.com/uttar-pradesh-proposes-to-install-16-gw-solar/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>proposed</strong></a><strong> a 16 GW solar capacity target in its draft policy earlier this year</strong>. The approved target capacity includes 14 GW of utility-scale power projects, 6 GW of rooftop solar projects, and 2 GW of distributed solar projects. The Uttar Pradesh New and Renewable Energy Development Agency (<a href="http://upneda.org.in/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">UPNEDA</a>) has been designated the nodal agency for implementing the policy.</p>
<p><strong>The Himachal Pradesh Electricity Regulatory Commission </strong><a href="https://hperc.org/new1/File/ghanvi27-2022.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>determined</strong></a><strong> a project-specific levelized tariff of ₹3.16 (~$0.038)/kWh for the Ghanvi-II small hydro project, which will be applicable from the commercial operation date, i.e., April 3, 2014.</strong> Himachal Pradesh State Electricity Board had filed a petition with the regulatory body for the determination of capital cost and project-specific levelized tariff for the sale of power from Ghanvi II, a 10 MW small hydropower project located on Ghanvi river in the Shimla district of Himachal Pradesh.</p>
<p><strong>Larsen &amp; Toubro </strong><a href="https://www.larsentoubro.com/pressreleases/2022-11-24-lt-construction-wins-a-significant-order-for-its-heavy-civil-infrastructure-business/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>secured</strong></a><strong> an order from the Greenko group for civil and hydromechanical works to develop an off-stream pumped storage project in Madhya Pradesh.</strong> The project will be executed within 30 months through a consortium led by Larsen &amp; Toubro. Upon completion, the project will be one of India&#8217;s largest clean energy projects of its type. The Gandhisagar project, designed to meet a pumped storage capacity of 10,080 MWh, envisages the creation of an upper reservoir near Khemla block village in Madhya Pradesh while the existing Gandhisagar reservoir will be the lower reservoir.</p>
<p><strong>The Al Kharsaah, an 800 MW solar power project in Qatar, <a href="https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/light-up-qatars-carbon-neutral-world-cup----800mw-solar-power-plant-in-qatar-constructed-by-powerchina-connected-to-the-grid-301686633.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">achieved</a> grid connectivity at full capacity.</strong> The project, located 80 km west of Doha, is said to be the world&#8217;s largest solar project using a tracking system and bifacial modules. It is also the third-largest single-location solar power project in the world. Qatar hopes to use this project to promote clean energy development in the country. Al Kharsaah can supply 10% of Qatar&#8217;s peak power consumption and offset 26 million tons of CO2 emissions over its lifetime.</p>
<p><strong>ib vogt, a Berlin-headquartered solar developer, <a href="https://www.ibvogt.com/home/vogt-news/ib-vogt-starts-construction-on-149-mwp-project-in-spain-signs-ppa-with-google.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">started</a> the construction of the 149 MW Garnacha solar power project located in the province of Zamora in Spain.</strong> The company signed a power purchase agreement (PPA) with Google for 12 years, and the project is expected to be commercially operational by October 2023. The project is located near the city of Toro and covers an area of 224 hectares of land. With an output of up to 300 GWh per year, the project would provide electricity equivalent to the average consumption of 85,000 households while saving up to 50,000 tons of CO2 per year.</p>
<p><strong>Harmony Energy, a UK-based renewables developer, <a href="https://www.harmonyenergy.co.uk/general/harmony-energy-income-trust-brings-europes-largest-battery-energy-storage-system-online/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">announced</a> the successful commissioning of the 196 MWh – Pillswood project in East Yorkshire in the UK. </strong>The project has deployed a Tesla two-hour megapack system, which can store up to 196 MWh of electricity in a single cycle. The project site is located adjacent to National Grid&#8217;s Creyke Beck substation, the same connection point proposed for phases&#8217; A&#8217; and &#8216;B&#8217; of the world&#8217;s largest offshore wind farm, Dogger Bank, which is set to become operational in summer 2023. The project will be operated through Autobidder, Tesla&#8217;s algorithmic trading platform, which has demonstrated its efficiency in managing the Holes Bay and Contego projects – two existing battery storage projects also developed by Harmony Energy.</p>
<p><strong>Voltalia, an international player in the renewable energy space</strong><strong>, </strong><strong><a href="https://www.voltalia.com/news-releases/news-release-details/voltalia-signs-350-megawatt-solar-power-supply-contract-renault" target="_blank" rel="noopener">announced</a></strong><strong> the signing of a contract with the Renault Group to supply 350 MW of solar power, representing </strong>approximately 500 GWh per year. The agreement is considered one of France&#8217;s largest renewable electricity supply contracts. Renault Group has announced its intention to accelerate the decarbonization of its plants in France, and the agreement with Voltalia will enable them to cover up to 50% of the electricity consumption of its production activities in France by 2027. Voltalia will install 100 MW of solar panels at its sites in France starting in 2025.</p>
<p><strong>AMEA Power </strong><a href="https://ameapower.com/amea-power-to-expand-the-capacity-of-its-solar-project-in-togo-creating-west-africas-largest-solar-plant/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>announced</strong></a><strong> the expansion of the &#8216;Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed Solar Power Project&#8217; in Togo from 50 MW to 70 MW, making it the largest solar project in West Africa</strong>. Located in the village of Blitta, the project will provide power to more than 222,000 households and include a 4 MWh battery energy storage system. Phases 1 and 2 of the project were fully developed by AMEA Power during the COVID-19 pandemic and took less than 18 months to complete from their initial inception. Both project phases became operational in June 2021.</p>
<div class="saboxplugin-wrap" itemtype="http://schema.org/Person" itemscope itemprop="author"><div class="saboxplugin-tab"><div class="saboxplugin-gravatar"></div><div class="saboxplugin-authorname"><a href="https://cms.mercomindia.com/author/rakesh-ranjan-parashar/" class="vcard author" rel="author"><span class="fn">Rakesh Ranjan</span></a></div><div class="saboxplugin-desc"><div itemprop="description"><div class="designboxt">
<p><img class="alignleft" style="border-radius: 50%;height: 50px;margin-top: -4px;border: 1px solid #00b451" src="https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Rakesh-Headshot-crop-2.jpg" width="50" /></p>
<p><strong style="text-decoration: underline">Rakesh Ranjan,</strong> Staff reporter at Mercom India<br />
<a href="https://mercomindia.com/author/rakesh-ranjan-parashar/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">More articles from Rakesh Ranjan.</a></p>
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<p><img class="alignleft" src="https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Rakesh-Headshot-crop-2.jpg" width="77" height="102" /><a href="https://mercomindia.com/author/rakesh-ranjan-parashar/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong style="color: #00b451">Rakesh Ranjan</strong></a> is a staff reporter at Mercom India. Prior to joining Mercom, he worked in many roles as a business correspondent, assistant editor, senior content writer, and sub-editor with bcfocus.com, CIOReview/Silicon India, Verbinden Communication, and Bangalore Bias. Rakesh holds a Bachelor’s degree in English from Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU). <a href="https://mercomindia.com/author/rakesh-ranjan-parashar/" rel="noopener noreferrer">More articles from Rakesh Ranjan.</a>
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Daily News Wrap-Up: Uttar Pradesh to Install 22 GW Solar Capacity by FY27


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					</table><p>Here are some noteworthy cleantech announcements of the day from around the world:</p>
<p><strong>ib vogt has <a href="https://www.ibvogt.com/home/vogt-news/ib-vogt-completes-116-mwp-coara-marang-solar-project-in-malaysia.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">achieved</a> commercial operation of the 116 MW Coara Marang solar project in consortium with its Malaysian joint venture partner, Coara Solar. </strong>The project signed a 21-year power purchase agreement in June 2020 with Tenaga Nasional Berhad, Malaysia&#8217;s largest electricity utility. The project was developed along with ib Vogt&#8217;s Malaysian project partner, Coara Solar, under the third round of the large-scale solar program issued by the Energy Commission of Malaysia in 2019. This tender was introduced to increase the country&#8217;s renewable energy share in the national installed capacity mix from 2% to 31% by 2025. With an output of 230 GWh per year, the project will produce clean solar electricity equivalent to the average annual consumption of 55,000 households<strong> </strong>while saving up to 120,000 tons of CO<sub>2</sub> per year.</p>
<p><strong>Tata Power Solar Systems has <a href="https://www.bseindia.com/xml-data/corpfiling/AttachLive/6860dd21-02ac-45a8-bb13-067233ad680b.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">launched</a> new off-grid solar solutions in West Bengal, Bihar, and Jharkhand.</strong> The off-grid solutions provide a combination of high-efficient solar modules, inverters, and batteries and are available in 11 variants ranging from 1 &#8211; 10 kW with a five-year warranty. The company&#8217;s solutions are engineered to provide an efficient integrated power system to consumers for their power backup requirements during grid supply shortages. These solar off-grid solutions are charged during the daytime and enable consumers to access sustainable electricity by reducing their reliance on costly and polluting alternatives like diesel generators during the night and outages.</p>
<p><strong><a href="https://www.acme.in/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ACME Group</a>, through its special purpose vehicle ACME Pokran Solar, announced the signing of the letter of intent (LoI) for a 50 MW wind project.</strong> The company had won the project under the Gujarat Urja Vikas Nigam’s auction to purchase power from 500 MW of grid-connected wind power projects (Phase-III) by quoting a tariff ₹3.26 (~$0.039)/kWh. According to a source close to negotiations, the LoI was signed at a final tariff of ₹2.90 (~$0.035)/kWh.</p>
<p><strong>Electric Vehicle (EV) charging company </strong><a href="https://www.chargezone.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>CHARGE+ZONE</strong></a><strong> will partner with Mahindra &amp; Mahindra</strong> <strong>to set up a network of EV charging stations for Mahindra&#8217;s electric SUVs.</strong> As part of the partnership, CHARGE+ZONE and Mahindra will explore installing, commissioning, and maintaining fast DC chargers at various locations, including owned and rented sites, offices, or other areas nominated by Mahindra, its affiliates, and group companies. The partnership will also entail rolling out e-mobility solutions spanning discovery, availability, navigation, and transactions, aiming to empower all EV users to access the charging network seamlessly. By the end of this year, Mahindra&#8217;s EV users will have access to the Charge+Zone&#8217;s network of 2,500 plus charging points across 25 cities and 10,000 km of highways.</p>
<p><strong>General Motors <a href="https://news.gm.com/newsroom.detail.html/Pages/news/us/en/2022/oct/1026-energy.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">finalized</a> the energy sourcing agreements required to secure 100% of the energy needed to power all its U.S. facilities by 2025. </strong>This is in line with the accelerated target announced in September 2021, five years ahead of the 2030 target announced in early 2021 and 25 years ahead of the initial target of 2050, set in 2016. By achieving this accelerated goal, GM expects to avoid producing an estimated 1 million metric tons of carbon emissions that would have been produced between 2025 and 2030, equal to the emissions produced by burning 1 billion pounds of coal.</p>
<div class="saboxplugin-wrap" itemtype="http://schema.org/Person" itemscope itemprop="author"><div class="saboxplugin-tab"><div class="saboxplugin-gravatar"></div><div class="saboxplugin-authorname"><a href="https://cms.mercomindia.com/author/arjun-joshi/" class="vcard author" rel="author"><span class="fn">Arjun Joshi</span></a></div><div class="saboxplugin-desc"><div itemprop="description"><div class="designboxt">
<p><img class="alignleft" style="border-radius: 50%;height: 50px;margin-top: -4px;border: 1px solid #00b451" src="https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Arjun-Joshi-1.png" width="50" /></p>
<p><strong style="text-decoration: underline">Arjun Joshi,</strong> Staff reporter at Mercom India<br />
<a href="https://mercomindia.com/author/arjun-joshi/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">More articles from Arjun Joshi.</a></p>
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<p><img class="alignleft" src="https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Arjun-Joshi-1.png" width="86" height="102" /><a href="https://mercomindia.com/author/arjun-joshi/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong style="color: #00b451">Arjun Joshi</strong> </a>is a staff reporter at Mercom India. Before joining Mercom, he worked as a technical writer for enterprise resource software companies based in India and abroad. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Journalism, Psychology, and Optional English from Garden City University, Bangalore. <a href="https://mercomindia.com/author/arjun-joshi" target="_blank" rel="noopener">More articles from Arjun Joshi.</a></p>
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Daily News Wrap-Up: ib vogt Commissions 116 MW Solar Project in Malaysia

<p>From: <a href="https://mercomcapital.com/project-finance-brief-nexamp-community-projects/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Mercom Capital Group</a></p>
<p><strong>Sun Investment Group (SIG) and Ignitis Renewables have </strong><a href="https://tinyurl.com/mercomtgnaq" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><strong>signed</strong></a><strong> a contract under which Ignitis Renewables will acquire a 170 MW turnkey portfolio developed in Poland by SIG. </strong>The PV projects will be eligible for a 15-year support mechanism ensuring the stability of electricity pricing for the projects. To be constructed in the southern voivodeships of Poland, the solar projects will generate around 190,000 MWh of electricity annually, enough to power 79,000 houses.</p>
<p><strong>German developer Joachim Goldbeck </strong><a href="https://www.ebrd.com/news/2020/ebrd-gcf-and-ctf-us-426-million-for-solar-plant-in-kazakhstan.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><strong>secured</strong></a><strong> a $42.6 million financing package from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) for a 76 MW solar project </strong>in the Karaganda region of Kazakhstan. The $42.6 million package consists of an EBRD loan of up to $28 million, a concessional loan of up to $11.5 million provided by the <a href="https://www.greenclimate.fund/home" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Green Climate Fund</a>, and a concessional loan of up to $3.1 million provided by the Climate Investment Funds&#8217; <a href="https://www.climateinvestmentfunds.org/topics/clean-technologies" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Clean Technology Fund</a>.</p>
<p><strong>Iberdrola, a Spain-based electric utility company, has </strong><a href="https://www.iberdrola.com/press-room/news/detail/iberdrola-targets-japan-growth-platform-renewables" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><strong>reached</strong></a><strong> an agreement with Macquarie&#8217;s Green Investment Group (GIG) to acquire 100% of Acacia Renewables, a Japan-based renewable energy developer. </strong>Acacia Renewables has two offshore wind projects under development with a total capacity of 1.2 GW. It also has four projects in the pipeline, with a total capacity of 2.1 GW. Iberdrola will hold an equal share in the six projects alongside GIG, and both partners will develop the portfolio. The company also acquired the French renewable energy company Aalto Power and made agreements to develop 165 MW of onshore wind power in Scotland.</p>
<p><strong>The Desjardins Group Pension Plan and Desjardins Financial Security have </strong><a href="https://tinyurl.com/mercomdjqn" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><strong>partnered</strong></a><strong> with Connor, Clark &amp; Lunn Infrastructure, to acquire a majority stake in a portfolio of U.S. renewable power assets from EDP Renováveis (EDPR). </strong>EDPR has developed four wind projects currently in operation and one construction-stage solar project. When all the projects, located in the states of Indiana, Wisconsin, Oklahoma, and Ohio, are in operation, they will combine for more than 560 MW. EDPR will stay on as a minority shareholder and continue to operate and manage the projects.</p>
<p><strong>Q-Energy, the energy investment vehicle of Qualitas Equity, has <a href="https://tinyurl.com/mercomsend" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">bought</a> from Sener and Masdar three solar thermal projects in Spain from Concentrated Solar Power Torresol Energy Investments.</strong> The projects are located in Seville and Cádiz. The three solar thermal projects have a generation capacity of 120 MW, enough to supply 100,000 homes.</p>
<p><strong>Nexamp, a Massachusetts-based solar energy solutions provider, is </strong><a href="https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/nexamp-to-acquire-50-mw-community-solar-portfolio-from-dimension-energy-301131434.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><strong>acquiring</strong></a><strong> a 50 MW portfolio comprising of ten community solar projects from Dimension Energy. </strong>Nexamp will build the assets and manage customer subscriptions with its in-house teams as the long-term project owner. The development works were carried out by Dimension Energy&#8217;s development team with local landowners in early 2019. The first tranche of projects is fully permitted, with the remainder expected to receive final approvals by the end of 2020.<strong> </strong></p>
<p><strong>Spanish solar power developer Audax Renovables has </strong><a href="https://www.spglobal.com/marketintelligence/en/news-insights/latest-news-headlines/audax-renovables-issuing-green-bonds-to-fund-construction-of-8-solar-projects-60307765" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><strong>issued</strong></a><strong> €20 million (~$23.68 million) of green bonds to fund eight solar projects</strong> <strong>with a combined capacity of 40 MW</strong>. The bonds have maturity within two years and are part of the company&#8217;s up to €400 million (~$473.77 million) fixed-income bond program, registered in the Alternative Fixed-Income Market.</p>
<p><strong>Climate ER, the UK based, utility-scale renewable energy developer focused on solar PV, and distributed generation assets have </strong><a href="https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/climate-er-secures-funding-for-the-development-of-a-500mw-utility-scale-solar-pipeline-in-the-uk-897386100.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><strong>secured</strong></a><strong> funding to develop</strong> <strong>£250 million (~$321.88 million) worth of utility-scale solar projects in the U.K.</strong> The company is targeting the development of a 500 MW pipeline within the next two years.</p>
<p><strong>Vortex Energy, a global renewable energy platform managed by Beaufort Investments, a subsidiary of the private equity arm of EFG Hermes, has </strong><a href="https://tinyurl.com/mercomvesc" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><strong>completed</strong></a><strong> the sale of its controlling and managing stake in Vortex Solar (Vortex III), a 365 MW solar PV portfolio. </strong>The project was acquired in 2017 from TerraForm Power, at an enterprise value of £500 million (~$647 million). The stake was sold to TNB International, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB), an existing shareholder in the business and one of South East Asia&#8217;s largest utilities.</p>
<p>For reports and trackers on funding and M&amp;A transactions in solar, energy storage, smart grid, and efficiency sectors, click <a href="https://mercomcapital.com/clean-energy-reports/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">here</a>.</p>
<p>Read last week&#8217;s project finance <a href="https://mercomindia.com/project-finance-brief-foresight-solar/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">brief</a>.</p>
<div class="saboxplugin-wrap" itemtype="http://schema.org/Person" itemscope itemprop="author"><div class="saboxplugin-tab"><div class="saboxplugin-gravatar"></div><div class="saboxplugin-authorname"><a href="https://cms.mercomindia.com/author/staff/" class="vcard author" rel="author"><span class="fn">Staff</span></a></div><div class="saboxplugin-desc"><div itemprop="description"></div></div><div class="clearfix"></div></div></div>

Project Finance Brief: Nexamp to Acquire 50 MW of Community Solar Projects

<p>A consortium of ib vogt and AG Agro Industries have won a contract to develop a 50 MW grid-tied solar project in the Chittagong district of Bangladesh.</p>
<p>The company is expected to enter into a power purchase agreement (PPA) with the Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDP) for 20 years. The project will be developed on a build, own, and operate basis (BOO).</p>
<p>Further, BPDB is expected to procure the power at a tariff of $0.1094/kWh under the condition of ‘no electricity, no payment.’</p>
<p>Renewable energy in the form of biomass is the main source of primary energy in the country, comprising about 35-60% of total primary energy use.</p>
<p>Furthermore, Bangladesh aims to install 2.47 GW of renewable energy projects by 2021. A significant amount of this capacity will be developed through solar and wind projects. This year, the World Bank <a href="https://mercomindia.com/world-bank-loan-renewable-projects-bangladesh/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">approved</a> a $185 million loan to facilitate 310 MW of renewable energy generation capacity in Bangladesh to meet the growing demand for electricity in the country.</p>
<p>In <a href="https://mercomindia.com/bangladesh-tenders-50-60-mw-solar-projects/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">February 2019</a>, BPDB announced a tender for 50-60 MW of grid-connected solar PV projects at Rangunia, Chattogram. The projects would be developed on a build-own-operate (BOO) basis for 20 years.</p>
<p><a href="https://mercomindia.com/bangladesh-issues-tender-200-mw-solar-projects/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">In July 2018,</a> <a href="http://www.bpdb.gov.bd/bpdb/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">BPDB</a> had tendered 200 MW of solar PV projects to be developed across select locations in the country. <a href="https://mercomindia.com/power-purchase-agreement-200-mw-solar-project-signed-bangladesh/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Last year</a>, BPDB also entered a 20-year PPA with Teesta Solar Limited, a sister concern of <a href="http://www.beximco.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">BEXIMCO Group</a>, to procure 200 MW of solar electricity.</p>
<p>Bangladesh has become an attractive investment destination for solar projects in the Indian subcontinent.</p>
<p><a href="https://mercomindia.com/iix-global-invests-offgrid-solar-bangladesh/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">In October 2018</a>, <a href="https://iixglobal.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">IIX global</a>, a Singapore-based organization, announced an investment of $1.66 million under Series A round from the IIX Growth Fund, into off-grid solar energy firm SOLshare in Bangladesh.</p>
<div class="saboxplugin-wrap" itemtype="http://schema.org/Person" itemscope itemprop="author"><div class="saboxplugin-tab"><div class="saboxplugin-gravatar"></div><div class="saboxplugin-authorname"><a href="https://cms.mercomindia.com/author/shaurya/" class="vcard author" rel="author"><span class="fn">Shaurya Bajaj</span></a></div><div class="saboxplugin-desc"><div itemprop="description"><p><img class="wp-image-13448 alignleft" src="https://mercomindia.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Screenshot-2019-04-17-at-4.26.41-PM-e1556814659545.png" alt="" width="118" height="124" /><span style="font-family: Calibri"><span style="color: #000000"><span>Shaurya is a staff reporter at MercomIndia.com with experience working in the Indian solar energy industry for the past four years in various roles. Prior to joining Mercom, Shaurya worked with a renewable energy developer and a consulting company. Shaurya holds a Bachelors Degree in Business Management from Lancaster University in the United Kingdom. </span></span></span></p>
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Bangladesh to Develop 50 MW of Solar Power Projects

<p>The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (<a href="http://www.ebrd.com/home" target="_blank" rel="noopener">EBRD</a>), the Green Climate Fund (<a href="http://www.greenclimate.fund/home" target="_blank" rel="noopener">GCF</a>), and the Netherlands Development Finance Company (<a href="https://www.fmo.nl/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">FMO</a>) have together agreed to provide an $87 million syndicated loan to <a href="http://www.infinitysolar.co" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Infinity Solar Energy SAE</a>, an Egyptian renewable energy developer, and <a href="http://www.ibvogt.com/home.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ib vogt GmbH</a>, an international solar developer established in Germany, to develop 80 MW of solar in the planned Benban Solar Park in Egypt.</p>
<p>The funds will be used to construct and operate two, solar PV projects with a total capacity of 80 MW at the Benban complex in Upper Egypt, which upon completion will be the largest solar installation in Africa, with a total planned capacity of 1.8 GW, according to an EBRD release.</p>
<p>Each development will be funded through loans of $87 million under an A/B structure, comprising A Loans of $58 million from EBRD, of which $44 million will be from EBRD’s own account and $14 million will come from the Green Climate Fund. Meanwhile, FMO will provide B Loans of $29 million. The development consortium was supported by Synergy Consulting and Solizer, which acted as transaction advisors for the two projects.</p>
<p>The investment is a part of EBRD’s $500 million frameworks for renewable energy in Egypt that was adopted by the bank’s board of directors earlier this year. The framework aims to develop Egypt’s potential in renewables and strengthen private sector involvement in the power and energy sector.</p>
<p>Support for the framework has been provided by the Southern and Eastern Mediterranean (SEMED) Energy Efficiency Policy Dialogue Framework, which was funded by the European Union’s Neighbourhood Investment Facility and the SEMED Multi-Donor Account.</p>
<p>“We are delighted to welcome Infinity and ib vogt as new partners in this important project, which will significantly change the way that Egypt generates energy. The expansion of renewables is crucial not only for the environment, but also for the wider economy. It will create jobs, increase energy security and reduce the burden on the economy. The introduction of a regulatory framework that private investors can rely on will ensure that all of this happens at a sustainable cost and affordable prices,” said Harry Boyd-Carpenter, head of power and energy utilities for EBRD.</p>
<p>Ayaan Adam, private sector facility director for the Green Climate Fund, commented, “This first investment with EBRD under our Egypt Renewable Energy Financing Framework project is a big step forward. It shows the potential for public and private climate finance to drive the transition to low-emission energy in support of Egypt’s climate goals.”</p>
<p>“We are delighted to collaborate with EBRD and its partners GCF and FMO on these two projects under the Egyptian Feed-in Tariff program.  We see this cooperation as a big step in achieving our capacity goals for the Egyptian market, and hope to see many more projects in the near future,” said Mohamed Mansour, chief executive officer of Infinity Solar.</p>
<p>Mercom <a href="https://mercomindia.com/ebrd-proparco-provide-116-million-finance-installation-100-mw-solar-egypt/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">previously reported</a> that EBRD and Proparco, a French financial institution, had agreed to finance the installation of two, 50 MW solar projects set to be developed in the Benban Solar Complex in the Aswan province of Egypt. EBRD and Proparco will each provided $58 million ($116 million in total) for the construction and operation of the projects.</p>
<p>Image credit: EBRD</p>
<div class="saboxplugin-wrap" itemtype="http://schema.org/Person" itemscope itemprop="author"><div class="saboxplugin-tab"><div class="saboxplugin-gravatar"></div><div class="saboxplugin-authorname"><a href="https://cms.mercomindia.com/author/wendyprabhu/" class="vcard author" rel="author"><span class="fn">Wendy Prabhu</span></a></div><div class="saboxplugin-desc"><div itemprop="description"><div class="designboxt">
<p><img class="alignleft" style="border-radius: 50%;height: 50px;margin-top: -4px;border: 1px solid #00b451" src="https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/wendy-edited-e1520613276336.png" width="50" /></p>
<p><strong style="text-decoration: underline">Wendy Prabhu,</strong> Staff reporter at Mercom India<br />
<a href="https://mercomindia.com/author/wendyprabhu/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">More articles from Wendy Prabhu.</a></p>
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<img class="alignleft" src="https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/wendy-edited-e1520613276336.png" alt="Wendy Prabhu" />Wendy is a co-founder of Mercom Capital Group, the parent company of Mercom India. Wendy is a contributing editor at MercomIndia.com and is responsible for content quality across the company and products. She has over 15 years of business and finance experience in the energy and technology markets. In addition to Mercom, Wendy has written for many other clean energy-focused blogs and publications.  <a href="https://mercomindia.com/author/wendyprabhu/">More articles from Wendy</a><a href="https://mercomindia.com/author/wprabhu/"> Prabhu.</a></div>
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