£54.4 Million Photo Voltaic Refinancing Deal Approved for Lightsource and Octopus

The well known solar projects developers Lightsource Renewable Energy and Octopus Investments have just closed a deal, securing a £54.4 million refinancing package in order to build six solar parks, capable of generating 23 MW of solar power combined.

These solar parks will be built across the South East and West of England in the following locations: Wilburton (5.0MW), Howton (5.0MW), Hawton (4.9MW), Marston (4.5MW), Benbole (1.7MW) and Sandhill (1.9MW).

There were two major Banks from Holland and Scotland involved in the refinancing deal in amount of  £54.4 million, we are talking here about the Dutch bank NIBC and the Royal Bank of Scotland Corporate & Institutional Banking (RBS CIB),the latter one contributed with  £37.4 million.

With this new deal, the Royal Bank of Scotland is expanding its presence in the United Kingdom solar market. Until now, they financed 50 MW of solar capacity and this latest investment represents the third completed solar transaction in the last year or so, good news for the solar industry, don't you think? Let's hope this is not the new bubble...

He have a statement from Mr. Andrew Buglass, the Chief of Energy,Structured Finance at Royal Bank of Scotland:

“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 have a pipeline of deals in the project finance UK solar space that we are currently working on. While we continue to see refinancing opportunities under the feed-in tariff regime the majority of current opportunities are larger scale projects under the Renewables Obligation.” 

Also, from Lightsource, Mr. Nick Boyle, the company CEO told us:

 “We are delighted to have received this funding package from RBS and NIBC, which is another fantastic milestone for Lightsource and which will hopefully lead to many more similar financings for our solar development portfolio.”

For more information and news about solar energies in the UK, you may visit here anytime:  

http://www.solar-energy.co.uk/

Knapp solar park Soon to be Launched

Biodiversity is the word, as the Higher Knapp farm in the Somerset Village of Knapp, Somerset, is one of the United Kingdom's latest solar installations, they will produce in no time enough solar, this means carbon free energy, to provide 442 local homes. The plans for the 1.5 MW solar park have been approved, soon enough another green spot will appear on the map.

Lightsource Renewable Energy, a well known solar developer was chosen for the project, they closed an agreement with the land owners in order to run the solar array for the next 25 years. A major part in closing the deal was the Taunton Deane Borough Council, the local authorities, they were the ones who had to approve the project and gave the final green light, after extensive consultations on the matter. In the end, everything worked just fine, they addressed the local concerns but in the end, the deal was signed and permissions granted.

There were some disagreements from the local farmers, regarding the visibility of the proposed solar installation, due to the geographical conditions, the future solar site slopes upwards at the eastern border and the local community was concerned that the solar park will be strikingly visible. In order to address the well founded issues, Lightsource had to take a bold step, they went back to the drawing board and redesigned the project, choosing a site in a lower area of the county. And further, they planned a screen of hazel coppice trees, in order to mask the view of the future solar installation.

As Mr. Connor McGuinan, the Business Development Director at Lightsource Renewable Energy explained us:


“When we develop a new solar farm, we are entering into an agreement with the landowner and council for a period of 25 years. Therefore we are required to demonstrate that the land we build on is protected and used correctly to its fullest potential in order to obtain planning permission”.
“We are strong advocates of optimising the opportunity that a solar farm presents to enhance site biodiversity. Higher Knapp Farm will not only benefit from a new hazel coppice, but a species rich wildflower mix will be planted beneath and between the solar panel rows, creating a more diverse habitat.”

He also made pertinent comments regarding the need for rigorous design and planning of such installations:

 “Our tenancy duration runs for a long period of time and it is imperative that we address any concerns like flooding risks upfront to ensure there will be no impact on the surrounding area. It is in our best interests to work with the council and address local concerns collectively.”

The reduction in the RO rate from 2ROCs to 1.6 ROCs in April of 2012 created a golden opportunity for the solar industry, hence the recent influx of large solar projects which took place in the recent months and also raised some concerns about the industry's choice of suitable park locations.

For more information and news about solar energies in the UK, you may visit here anytime:  

http://www.solar-energy.co.uk/