Dublin-based solar energy firm UrbanVolt has agreed a new €40 million (£34 million) debt facility with international bank HSBC.
The company, which runs “solar as a service” propositions for major firms including Heineken and multinational manufacturer Flextronics, says the finance will be used to expand its services to commercial and industrial customers in both Ireland and Britain.
UrbanVolt provides design, finance, installation and maintenance services for solar panels for customers who want to take advantage of solar without the maintenance of managing it themselves, and the firm locks in electricity rates for up to 30 years from the date of installation.
This new finance package brings the total finance raised in debt and equity by the company to €230 million (£195.83 million). In 2023, the company secured a €26m (£22 million) equity investment from Norwegian growth investor Verdane.
Justin Jacober, UrbanVolt CEO, called the finance package “an important milestone” in the company’s growth ambitions in Ireland and Britain. Jacober added, “In an unpredictable global economic climate, this funding reinforces UrbanVolt’s position in the renewables sector, providing stability and confidence to customers transitioning to renewable energy.”
The sun shines on the Emerald Isle
This news comes as Ireland’s solar generation ambitions are continuing to rise. March of this year saw a new record set for Irish solar generation. According to Ireland’s grid operator EirGrid, on 25 March, grid-scale solar power in the Republic of Ireland supplied 750MW at one stage of the day — over 18MW more than the previous record for Irish solar, which was set in July 2024. According to Solar Media Market Research analyst Josh Cornes, over 400MW of utility-scale ground-mounted solar was added in Ireland in 2024, taking the total for operational capacity in the Republic of Ireland to over 1GW.
Meanwhile, two solar developments awarded contracts in Ireland’s second Renewable Electricity Support Scheme (RESS) in 2022 recently reached major milestones in their development. Neoen announced last month that it had begun construction on the 21.7MWp Threecastles solar power station, located in County Wicklow, the second site Neoen has developed in County Wicklow. The project is expected to come online in 2026, and will benefit from the CfD mechanism until 2040.
Furthermore, EirGrid has connected a 110kv substation in County Meath, a process which it is undertaking while simultaneously energising the nearby 85MW/93MWp Gaskinstown solar PV plant, which also received a contract in the RESS 2 auction round. The project, which Highfield Solar is developing, was also financed partially by Rabobank, which secured €65 million (£54.4 million) in debt financing for the project.
Major finance moves for the solar sector
UrbanVolt is far from the only solar PV company landing major finance deals to secure its growth. Last month, solar energy developer Aukera Energy announced it had secured a £135 million senior debt facility from international banks Deutsche Bank and Rabobank, which will be used to fund the development and construction of five UK solar projects with a combined capacity of 220MWp.
Rabobank also worked with Aura Power to secure a £33.1 million finance package to enable the developer to reach financial close on the 40MW Burtree Lane solar project.
