Macquarie has previously funded a 30MW solar deployment programme between HBS New Energies and Anglian Water. Image: HBS New Energies/Anglian Water
New debt financing of £275 million with a 13-year tenor is being provided by Macquarie for the refinancing of a UK solar portfolio totaling 365MW.
The portfolio is largely owned and operated by Vantage RE, a UK-based renewable energy investment and asset management firm owned by Bursa, Malaysia-listed electricity utility Tenaga Nasional Berhad.
The company is the sole lender in the refinancing of the 24 ground-mounted solar farms, which are located in England and Wales. The funding is to enable Vantage Solar UK to refinance existing shorter-term debt.
Tom van Rijsewijk, a managing director at Macquarie Asset Management, said: “Access to institutional savings pools will be key if the UK is to continue the build-out of clean generation capacity and deliver on its target of achieving net zero emissions by 2050.”
Since 2012, Macquarie Asset Management has lent approximately £2.6 billion across around 40 renewable energy projects, with these representing a total installed capacity of over 15.5GW via its infrastructure debt platform. This includes around £1.9 billion invested in renewable energy projects in the UK.
In 2018, Macquarie Principal Finance funded a 30MW solar deployment programme between solar installer HBS New Energies and Anglian Water.
Since then, it has made a number of developments through the Green Investment Group, which it acquired from the UK government in 2017 when it was known as the Green Investment Bank. This includes signing a joint venture with Enso Energy for 1GW of subsidy-free solar capacity across England and Wales and launching European solar energy company Cero Generation.