Triodos Bank finances UK solar farms for Spanish developer

Triodos Bank, Europe’s leading sustainable bank, has provided £17.9 million (US$23.6 million) of loans to two UK solar projects for Spanish developer Gamma Solutions SL. 

The transaction combines two types of loans in one finance package, namely £15.1 million (US$19.9 million)  of project finance loans from Triodos Bank with £2.8 million (US$3.69 million) of mezzanine loans from the Triodos Renewable Europe Fund (TREF), a dedicated renewable energy fund managed by Triodos Investment Management in the Netherlands.

Stokes Marsh and Stoneshill solar farms are located near Coulston in Wiltshire and Exeter in Devon. The ground-mounted solar projects have capacities of 15.1MWp and 5.0MWp, and were commissioned in March 2015 and March 2017.  With over 62,000 solar panels installed over 41.5 ha, their expected annual production of 19,973 MWh year is sufficient to power 5,068 homes and reduce 7,716 tonnes of CO2 emissions.

Stirling Habbitts, who led the UK transaction within the Project Finance team at Triodos Bank UK said:

“At Triodos Bank we can provide a variety of types of finance for renewable energy projects including project finance loans, mezzanine loans and equity.  In this case we were able to increase our finance offer by combining project finance with a mezzanine loan, creating a bespoke finance solution to meet our customer’s needs.  We are pleased to assist international organisations such as Gamma Solutions to grow their investments in UK renewables.”

The projects receive revenues under the UK Renewable Obligations Certificates (ROC) scheme and under power sold via Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs). The finance package will assist Gamma Solutions to consolidate its UK solar portfolio and release funds for new projects.  Triodos Bank are collaborating with Gamma Solutions on the finance of further projects including a portfolio of rooftop solar projects in Spain.

Legal advisors for the transaction were TLT for Triodos Bank, Norton Rose Fulbright for Triodos Renewable Europe Fund and Michel Mores for Gamma Solutions. Technical Advisors were Green Cat Renewables and RINA Consulting.

Cesar Gonzalez, CEO of Gamma:

 “Triodos was instrumental in providing Gamma with a financial package that could address the complexities of these two ground-mounted solar energy projects. Triodos had the flexibility and adaptability to propose a solution that maximised leverage at a reasonable cost. Triodos was also very responsive to Gamma’s time constraints and was able to take the financial solution from inception to execution and completion in a record time. We are extremely satisfied with Triodos team’s approachability and pragmatism and we hope this is the first of many transactions with Triodos.”

Vincent van Haarlem, Fund Manager of the Triodos Renewables Europe Fund:

“We are very pleased to add this sizeable PV asset to our investment portfolio. The investment fits with our strategy to cooperate closely with partners like Triodos Bank and Gamma, and it creates a solid platform for further cooperation. This project significantly contributes to the Fund’s aim to reduce CO2 emissions in Europe and as such to a much needed transition to a more sustainable society.”