Renewables

JGC joins Solacor CSPs

JGC Group has joined Abengoa as a minority investor in the Solacor 1 and 2 concentrating solar power (CSP) projects in Cordoba, Spain -- one of Spain's areas of highest solar radiation.

The deal is the first by a Japanese investor in commercial CSP, although Abengoa retains a 74% stake in the two 50MW projects. The plants are being built by Abengoa subsidiaries Abener and Teyma. They cost Eu500 million ($643 million) in total, and are due to come on-stream in 2012.

Debt facilities for the two projects closed in August. Lead arranged by SMBC, HSBC, Mizuho and BNP Paribas, the Eu428 million debt comprises two 20-year terms loans covered by NEXI -- Eu178 million for Solacor 1 and Eu176 million for Solacor 2. The deal also includes a Eu32 million VAT facility for Solacor 1, Eu29 million for Solacor 2 and a Eu7.18 million L/C for each project.

Lender legal counsel was Garrigues, with Herbert Smith acting for Abengoa.

ADB launches green lending bonds

The Asian Development Bank has is set to launch a clean energy bond to finance lending activity in the renewables and energy efficiency sectors in Asia and the Pacific. The arranger of the bond -- which does not have an indicative size but will be pitched to Japanese retail investors -- is HSBC, though 20 smaller Japanese securities firms will distribute the bond. According to the ADB, the bond will have a maturity of 4-7 years and be split into two Brazilian Real, one Turkish Lira and one Australian dollar tranche.

The proposed bond issue, which is set to close before the end of September, follows a yen60 billion (roughly $650 million) water bond issue, denominated in South African Rand and Australian dollars, which Daiwa distributed to Japanese investors in April. The clean energy bond follows the World Bank's issue in November of SKr2.7 billion ($344 million at the time) in bonds earmarked towards green lending. The idea behind such issues is that retail investors will show extra enthusiasm for bond issues where the proceeds are dedicated towards projects with socially beneficial ends.

Banks mandated for ENEOP wind

A bank group of Barclays, BBVA, CaixaBI and Santander has been mandated for the 354MW second phase...