Highfield Solar, a solar project developer, secured a €65 million (~$70.45 million) debt facility to construct and operate the 93 MW Gaskinstown solar PV project in Ireland. The project is financed by the Coöperatieve Rabobank U.A., which also funded the Rathnaskilloge 106 MW project developed by Highfield Solar in December 2023.
Coöperatieve Rabobank U.A. received support from Matheson LLP for the transaction process, and Krug & Schram provided technical advice to the financer. Furthermore, Mason Hayes & Curran LLP and Augustus Cullen Law provided support to Highfield.
Highfield Solar, which was established in 2014, is a joint venture between renewable energy developers Highfield Energy, Aura Power, and ib vogt. As one of the partners in the joint venture, ib vogt will provide engineering, procurement and construction, and initial O&M services. It has already supported Highfield Solar with development funding and technical engineering.
The Gaskinstown solar project will be built on an area of 81 hectares near the Duleek village in Meath County. Additionally, high-capacity bifacial modules on fixed-tilt support structures will be utilized for the project, taking into account land usage and efficiency. Work on the grid connection infrastructure is underway, and the construction of the project is expected to be completed in September 2024.
“As a company founded in Ireland, we are hugely proud of our role in continuing to attract such significant investment into the country for renewable electricity generation projects. It is also very important to us that the establishment of the associated community benefit funds will make significant contributions to the locality over the next decade and beyond”, says Peter Kavanagh, Managing Director of Highfield Energy. “Through the ecological and economic benefits as well as the benefits through the RESS scheme, these projects will make a long-lasting positive impact for the communities and people in the region”, says Anton Milner, CEO of ib vogt.
According to Mercom’s Q4 and Annual Global Solar Funding and M&A report, large-scale project funding deals announced in 2023 came to $44.5 billion in 229 deals, of which 196 were disclosed.
ib vogt, a renewable energy project developer, achieved financial closure for a 418 MW solar PV portfolio in Spain. The PV portfolio consists of three projects clustered around Segovia, in the autonomous community of Castile and León, Spain.
