The senior debt facility will enable the construction of large-scale renewable energy projects in the UK and the Netherlands. It is anticipated that the projects will result in the creation of at least 1 GW of capacity, with the potential to provide clean, affordable power to more than 360,000 homes and avoid 308,000 tonnes of CO2e.
It is estimated that an initial £230 million will be injected into Low Carbon’s growing portfolio, which the company expects to immediately deploy to support the construction of 500 MW of new solar PV capacity across 17 assets in the Netherlands and the UK. Further investment will follow shortly, as the facility’s accordion feature provides the ability to raise an additional £200 million taking the total of solar PV capacity in construction to 1 GW.
The announcement comes just weeks after Low Carbon was recognised as one of the world’s top B Corporations for environmental impact. Through its landmark partnership with the US insurance giant, MassMutual, Low Carbon has set its sights on creating 20 GW of new renewable energy capacity by 2030.
“We are delighted that three of the UK and Ireland’s leading banks have demonstrated a major endorsement of our business and its ambitions for expansion” said Founder and Chief Executive of Low Carbon Roy Bedlow. “The next decade is crucial to slowing the pace of climate change, and it is imperative that we rapidly deploy renewable energy at scale. The initial projects included in the finance facility will provide many in the UK and the Netherlands with clean, affordable energy in the years to come, and will help Low Carbon reach our strategic goals of net zero and 20 GW of new renewable energy capacity by 2030.”
Juan Martin Alfonso, COO and CFO at Low Carbon, added that the finance facility includes innovative features that will increase the pace of capital deployment into renewables.
“It is a Gross Asset Value facility, and represents a departure from traditional project financing models, providing great flexibility to Low Carbon to develop and manage its international project pipeline” said Mr Alfonso. “The multi-bank platform will enable us to add new assets into the facility and extend the tenor of the agreement as required. It also features an attractive pricing structure, bringing additional benefits to consumers at a crucial time.”
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