Solar PV developer Aura Power has announced that it has successfully secured financing for its third UK solar project.
The Grimsby Solar Farm, located in North East Lincolnshire, will have a generation capacity of 49.9MW once completed. The senior debt facility, the size of which has not been revealed, is being provided by Rabobank. The Dutch multinational banking firm also recently provided finance packages for Aura Power’s other upcoming solar projects, having agreed a £44 million debt facility for Aura Power’s 49.9MW Kemble Solar Farm near Cirencester in October 2024; more recently, the two firms agreed a £33.1 million funding deal in order to develop the 40MW Burtree Lane solar PV power plant, located in Darlington, County Durham.
All three of the projects Rabobank and Aura Power have agreed finance deals for have been awarded under the UK government’s Contracts for Difference (CfD) scheme in the 2023 auction round, Allocation Round 5 (AR5). Preliminary construction works on the Grimsby Solar Farm’s new substation, which will support the export of energy from the project, have already begun, with primary construction due to begin in the coming weeks. Final energisation of the Grimsby solar PV power plant is being targeted for early next year.
Aura Power has a 0.5GWp solar pipeline in the UK, which it is aiming to have built by the end of 2028. In total, the firm, which is based in Bristol, south west England, has a global solar and battery energy storage system (BESS) pipeline of around 12GW.
Ben Moore, director at Aura Power, said that the company is currently in the midst of a “really exciting time”, adding: “Having started the company 12 years ago, we are delighted to be building an operations portfolio of over half a GW of solar assets in the UK”.
Jesse Leeuwendal, director at Rabobank, stated that the bank is proud to be expanding its relationship with Aura Power, adding that this latest deal “reflects our shared commitment to sustainable development and the energy transition”.
Rabobank increases its reach in UK solar and storage finance
Rabobank’s recent deals with Aura Power are just a few of many recent deals that the bank has made to finance the ambitions of solar and storage developers in the UK. Rabobank recently committed finance toward Aukera Energy’s solar development pipeline in a £135 million deal that will be used to fund the construction of five UK solar projects with a combined capacity of 220MWp.
Last month, BESS firm Field secured a £42 million non-recourse loan from Rabobank and ING to support the rollout of 125MW of BESS projects across England and Scotland, shortly after having supported Enray Power reach financial close for the Camblesforth Solar Farm, a 68.5MWp solar PV power plant with a 24MWh co-located BESS.
