Funding and M&A Roundup: SmartSolar Raises $1.8 Million in Seed Funding ORIT secures $125 million five-year term loan facility SmartSolar, a rooftop solar solution provider, has raised $1.85 million in seed funding. The funding was led by Picus Capital and 2degrees, along with participation from early-stage venture capital firm Iterative. With this funding, the company plans to accelerate its growth in Vietnam and expand its footprint across Southeast Asia. The company offers rooftop solar solutions designed to help businesses cut down on electricity costs. Octopus Renewables Infrastructure Trust, an investment company, announced that it has signed a £100 million (~$125 million) five-year term loan facility with three of its existing lenders, Santander, National Australia Bank, and Allied Irish Banks. The funding will be used to pay down a portion of the existing and more expensive Revolving Credit Facility (RCF) debt. According to ORIT, it has drawn £151.2 million (~$191 million) on the RCF so far. Vidyut, an electric vehicle ecosystem platform, has raised $2.5 million in funding from global investor Flourish Ventures. The company will utilize the acquired funds to expand its Battery-as-a-Service offering in passenger and commercial EV segments. By unbundling batteries from EVs and offering them on a pay-per-km subscription basis, Vidyut claimed it had reduced upfront electric three-wheeler costs by 35-40%. For reports and trackers on funding and M&A transactions in solar, energy storage, and smart grid sectors, click here. Read last week's funding roundup. Tags: Vidyut, Octopus Renewables Infrastructure Trust, SmartSolar, solar, funding

rPlus Energies (rPlus), a solar and energy storage project developer, secured over $1 billion in construction debt financing for its Green River Energy Center, which comprises 400 MW of solar PV and 400 MW/1,600 MWh of energy storage.

Crédit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank, KeyBanc Capital Markets, MUFG Bank, Truist Securities, and Wells Fargo Securities contributed to the debt financing deal as coordinating lead arrangers. MUFG Bank is the lender’s administrative agent.

Norton Rose Fulbright acted as lead counsel, while Dorsey & Whitney served as special Utah counsel to rPlus. Winston & Strawn represented the lenders on Utah law matters, with support from Snell & Wilmer.

The Green River Energy Center project in Emery County, Utah, already has a power purchase agreement with PacifiCorp. According to the company, the project is expected to generate approximately 500 construction jobs and boost local tax revenue for Emery County.

Sundt Renewables will provide engineering, procurement, and construction services.

“The Green River Energy Center marks rPlus Energies’ debut as an independent power producer,” said rPlus Energies’ President & CEO, Luigi Resta. “We deeply thank the five esteemed lenders and their affiliates and syndicate members for supporting one of the country’s largest projects.”

Mercom’s recently released 1H and Q2 2024 Solar Funding and M&A report announced that large-scale project funding in 1H 2024 came to $19.9 billion in 117 deals compared to $14.9 billion in 113 deals in 1H 2023.

Solar project development and investment management firm Sun Investment Group (SIG) obtained debt funding last month for a mid to late-stage solar PV project pipeline in Poland with a total capacity of 1,970 MW. An international debt fund is entirely subscribed to financing, which will support the projects’ development.

Staff

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