Lightsource Close Financing With RBS On Latest Solar Parks
Lightsource Renewable Energy has closed the project financing of a portfolio comprising solar parks totalling a cumulative installed capacity of circa 45 Megawatts-Peak (MWp) with funding from The Royal Bank of Scotland Corporate & Institutional Banking (RBS CIB).
Lightsource's current operational portfolio of 327 MWp generates enough green electricity to power over 100,000 UK households positioning Lightsource as the UK's leading solar developer and operator.
Located at eight different locations across the South and South West of England, the solar parks have been built under the Renewables Obligation (RO) subsidy regime. The eight solar projects refinanced are Lovedean (4.5 MW), Ninnis (3.9 MW), Rudge Manor (6.4 MW), Hatchlands (5.2 MW), Parkhouse (6.6 MW), Shipton Bellinger (5.4 MW), Tregassow (5.9 MW) and Chittering 2 (6.3 MW). This latest transaction represents the most significant solar project financing in the UK to date under the Renewables Obligation (RO).
RBS CIB has a growing presence in the UK solar market, having funded over 90MWp of solar projects to date. This latest deal represents a market leading transaction in the UK to support large scale solar energy projects. RBS CIB solely provided finance on a bilateral basis and undertook the roles of Arranger, Facility Agent, Security Trustee and Account Bank.
Paul McCartie, Finance Director for Lightsource commented, "We have a strong appetite for development and a significant pipeline. Being able to close project financing deals swiftly is a testament to the diligence of our in-house capability satisfying funder's requirements. RBS has proven to be an exceptional, supportive partner and we have appreciated its strong market knowledge and commitment."
Andrew Buglass, Head of Energy, Structured Finance, RBS, comments, "We are delighted to support this project which represents a significant deal for Royal Bank of Scotland, and further endorses the expertise of our team. We highly value the relationship developed with Lightsource through this transaction and earlier financings under the Feed in Tariff regime. We have a pipeline of deals in the project finance UK solar space that we are currently working on including further larger scale projects under the Renewables Obligation."
