Sonnedix, an independent solar power producer, secured a €500 million (~$545 million) loan facility to finance the construction of its renewable pipeline in Europe and the UK.
The loan facility consists of a €450 million (~$490 million) capital expenditure facility and a €50 million (~$55 million) letter of credit facility. The loan will be used to finance renewable energy projects in Europe, particularly Spain, Italy, and the UK.
The loan has been provided by six commercial lenders acting as mandated lead arrangers and hedging banks: BBVA, CIBC, NatWest, Rabobank, Banco Sabadell, and Santander Corporate & Investment Banking (Santander CIB), which also acted as agent for the facilities. This loan adds to Sonnedix’s debt portfolio, including the closing of more than €600 million (~$655 million) of sustainability-linked corporate facilities earlier in 2023.
According to the company, it has a total capacity of over 10 GW, including a development pipeline of more than 6 GW, across Chile, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Poland, Portugal, Spain, US, and UK.
“This loan facility, which showcases the quality and strength of our banking relationships, removes barriers to deployment by unlocking more efficient and flexible financing approaches as we scale our renewable capacity in Europe. Demand for new renewable capacity continues to grow rapidly, and this kind of innovation is a good example of our customer-focused approach to accelerating the energy transition,” said Sonnedix’s CEO, Axel Thiemann.
According to Mercom’s 9M and Q3 2023 Solar Funding and M&A Report, solar debt financing activity in 9M 2023 totaled $16 billion in 54 deals, 93% higher than 9M 2022 when $8.3 billion was raised in 48 deals.
Recently, DSD Renewables, a business backed by BlackRock Real Assets’ Global Renewable Power platform and GE Renewable Energy and a provider of customized solar PV energy and energy storage solutions, secured a $250 million strategic investment from Cox Enterprises to support DSD’s growth as it continues to realize its mission of accelerating renewable energy deployment.
