Renewable energy investment and asset management company Low Carbon announced today that it has reached financial close on a new £230 million senior debt facility with commercial banks NatWest, Lloyds Bank and AIB, with a further £200 million expected to follow.

The financing will enable the construction of large-scale solar PV projects in the UK and the Netherlands, supporting at least 1 GW of capacity.

Low Carbon Founder and Chief Executive, Roy Bedlow, said:

“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. 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 company anticipates immediately deploying the initial £230 million to support the construction of 500MW of new solar PV capacity across 17 assets in the Netherlands and the UK. The facility also includes an accordion feature, providing the ability to raise an additional £200 million, adding an additional 500MW of solar PV capacity. According to the company, at 1GW, the projects could provide clean energy sufficient to power more than 360,000 homes and avoid 308,000 tonnes of CO2.

Low Carbon has set a goal to create 20GW of new renewable energy capacity by 2030.

Lyudmil Banev, Director at NatWest said:

“NatWest is delighted to have supported Low Carbon’s inaugural solar platform financing as the cornerstone lender and hedge execution bank, further enabling the ongoing expansion of Low Carbon’s market leading development business into large-scale asset construction and operation. Delivering the innovative £230m day 1 +£200m accordion financing package involved close and open collaboration between the client, the banks and all advisors, and we are pleased that the resulting structure provides a flexible and scalable solution to enable Low Carbon’s ambitious immediate and medium term pipeline.”

James Taylor, Head of Infrastructure & Project Finance at Lloyds Bank, added:

“Funding the development of renewable power generation is crucial to achieving UK’s Net Zero targets. In particular, low risk technologies such as solar PV will play a key role by accelerating the transition away from fossil fuels in a cost-effective manner.”

The post Renewable Energy Investor Low Carbon Signs £230 Million Facility to Back Solar PV Development appeared first on ESG Today.