SOLAR INVESTMENTS - FROM FUNDINGS TO PARTNERSHIPS & ACQUISITIONS: WEEK 21

This is a weekly newsletter to keep you updated on the latest developments in solar investments, including mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, public offerings within the solar industry. These are select stories that have been published on our website - TaiyangNews. If you are interested in weekly updates, please subscribe. For all news on solar, check our website https://taiyangnews.info/

FUNDINGS

Masdar raises financing for Uzbek solar & storage project: The World Bank has arranged a financing facility for what it calls the 1st renewable energy initiative with an integrated battery energy storage system (BESS) component in Central Asia. The 250 MW solar PV project in Uzbekistan with a 63 MW BESS is being developed by Abu Dhabi’s Masdar. According to the bank, adding BESS to the solar power plants will improve flexibility and efficiency of the power system. It will ensure greater security of energy supply and mitigate intermittency of renewable energy generation. The financing facility signed with Masdar and the Uzbek government includes a $53 million loan from the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and up to $106 million in loans from the Asian Development Bank (ADB), Dutch Entrepreneurial Development Bank (FMO), and Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). The IFC is also providing interest rate swaps for the entire debt amount. For the complete story, click here.

$135 million for Indian RE projects: US-based renewable energy company Enfinity Global has secured $135 million in financing to develop and construct 1.2 GW of solar and wind power projects in India. The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPP Investments) has approved the financing through the subsidiaries of CPPIB Credit Investments. CPP Investments sees this investment as providing a ‘promising source of long-term returns.’ Enfinity says these projects are spread across the 5 states of Maharashtra, Delhi, Karnataka, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh. All of these are currently at advanced stages of development and are expected to be commissioned between 2025 and 2026. Once online, this capacity will generate around 2.4 GWh annually. Enfinity says it owns and operates 240 MW of solar PV capacity in India and has another 1.5 GW under development. It seeks to develop and commission renewable energy power plants to supply more than 5 GWh of clean electricity annually over the next 3 years, including through power purchase agreements (PPA).

PAG achieves successful closure for 1st RE focused fund: Alternative investment manager focused on the Asia-Pacific region, PAG has closed its maiden renewable energy dedicated fund PAG REN I, having raised $550 million in capital commitments. Solar energy generation projects in Japan, supplying solar power to corporations, is a ‘primary target’ of the fund. Apart from Japan, PAG says the new fund will invest in physical renewable energy assets in Asia to support their development, acquisition and operations. The goal is to advance clean energy transition in the region while generating risk-adjusted returns, said PAG. The investment firm counts to have invested $1.6 billion in renewable energy in its 26 years, and operates through PAG Renewables, calling it one of the largest renewable energy platforms in Japan. The latter will manage the PAG REN I portfolio. For complete story, click here.

Silfab Solar raises funds from Schneider Electric to accelerate expansion: Silfab Solar, the Canada-headquartered North American solar module manufacturer, has secured funds to accelerate its expansion plans for US manufacturing by agreeing to a tax credit transfer deal with Schneider Electric. Silfab will sell its Section 45X Advanced Manufacturing Production Tax Credits (MPTC) to Schneider that has collaborated with sustainable finance technology firm Crux to procure the same. The duo hasn’t disclosed the financial terms of the deal. Silfab operates its module facilities in Toronto, Canada and Washington, US. It is now also building a 1 GW solar cell and 1.3 GW module factory in South Carolina. For complete story, click here.

Amptek receives angel round financing for perovskite PV module fab: A new perovskite module maker Amptek has received angel round financing led by Guoxin Zhongshu Tongling Science and Technology Innovation Fund. The company plans to use these funds for its perovskite crystalline silicon tandem PV module facility, led by the Shanghai Advanced Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Registered in Lingang, Shanghai in April 2023, Amptek has developed perovskite crystalline silicon tandem modules with a conversion efficiency of more than 28%. The company says it has achieved this by breakthrough large-scale perovskite mass production technology. It expects module costs to reduce by about 10% vis-à-vis high-efficiency crystalline silicon modules. Amptek has 2 high-level R&D platforms: Shanghai Prospective R&D Center and Calcium Silicon Tandem Industrialization Technology Demonstration Line.

TCL Zhonghuan to raise RMB 3.8B for silicon wafer & cell fabs: TCL Zhonghuan has released a prospectus, revealing its intention to raise about RMB 13.8 billion ($1.9 billion) through convertible bonds issuance. RMB 3.5 billion ($484.9 million) of these proceeds will be used to construct a 35 GW high-purity ultra-thin monocrystalline silicon wafer fab. The remaining RMB 10.3 billion will be used for its 25 GW n-type TOPCon high-efficiency solar cell smart factory.

$414 million for solar project: Renewable energy independent power producer (IPP) BrightNight and its joint venture (JV) partner Cordelio Power have secured $414 million for a 300 MW solar project. This construction credit facility will enable their JV BOCA bn, LLC to invest in the Box Canyon Project in Pinal County, Arizona. The project has been under construction since December 2023 and is scheduled to come online in H1/2025. It is contracted under a 20-year PPA with the Southwest Public Power Agency (SPPA). Lenders include Zions Bancorporation as the administrative agent and coordinating lead arranger along with the National Bank of Canada, Royal Bank of Canada, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank, and Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce as the joint lead arrangers. Both the JV partners say the Box Canyon project is the 1st in the 2 GW Arizona portfolio they own.

$100 million for community solar: US-based clean energy company Catalyze, which is backed by Actis, has raised $100 million in financing from NY Green Bank for its 79 MW community distributed generation solar portfolio across the New York State. NY Green Bank is a division of the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA). It will help advance the state’s goal of installing 6 GW distributed solar by 2025 and achieve 10 GW by 2030.

NamPower secures $138.5 million: Namibia’s national utility NamPower has secured a $138.5 million loan from the World Bank to improve its transmission network and increase renewable energy integration into the national grid. It will deploy the proceeds to develop a utility-scale battery energy storage system (BESS) facility among other uses. The bank will also support NamPower develop bankable renewable energy projects to enhance their socio-economic benefits.

INVESTMENTS

US announces $71 million investment in solar manufacturing: The US Department of Energy (DOE) has announced $71 million in financial support for research and development to onshore solar wafer and cell manufacturing. The funding for 18 selected projects aims to address gaps in the domestic solar manufacturing supply chain and open new markets for solar technologies. A total of 10 projects have been selected for Silicon Solar and Dual-Use Photovoltaics Incubator funding program. These include projects by Silfab Solar Cells for its Fort Mill, South Carolina factory, and also for its Bellingham, Washington factory where it will develop back contact solar cells and high efficiency silicon solar spandrels. Among the winners in this category is Ubiquity Solar, which has won an $11.2 million DOE grant to develop single crystal ingot growth using continuous Czochralski (CCz) method. Re:Build Manufacturing has been granted $1.9 million to develop and manufacture Czochralski ingot pullers for the solar industry. A complete list of winners in this category can be viewed here. For complete story, click here.

ACQUISITION

Aerem to acquire Spinkraft: An end-to-end platform for distributed solar and solar financier Aerem Solutions Private Limited has announced plans to acquire solar equipment distributor Spinkraft Ventures Private Limited. Aerem has entered a definitive agreement to acquire the company founded in 2021. Aerem says this acquisition will enable it to provide complete solutions to its customers at competitive prices. This suite of solutions includes software tools, customized financing solutions and quality solar procurement for solar EPCs and customers. Blume Ventures, Avaana Capital and Riverwalk Holdings are some of the equity firms backing Aerem.

Statkraft acquires Neoen’s Croatian RE portfolio: Norway’s state-owned energy group Statkraft has concluded the acquisition of Neoen’s renewable energy portfolio in Croatia. While the company did not disclose the exact capacity or financial terms of the deal, in an official statement Statkraft said the portfolio includes all of Neoen’s projects in the early stages of development. These comprise wind, solar and battery energy storage systems (BESS). Statkraft’s Director for Croatia and France Arnaud Bellanger explained, “Although this acquisition is smaller in scale, it fits well with our current position in the market. We are pleased to welcome three project developers from Neoen to our team in Zagreb.”

GreenYellow acquires solar company: French renewables company GreenYellow has acquired Grow Energy Management (GEM), a company majorly active in the decentralized solar energy business in Portugal and Poland. It brings to GreenYellow’s portfolio nearly 120 MW PV capacity that’s either ready-to-build (RTB) or already operational. It comprises a 100 MW large-scale project in Poland for the Polish supermarket chain Biedronka. GreenYellow says it plans to invest nearly €150 million over the next 3 years in Portugal and Poland as it aims to become a major player in the European self-consumption of solar space.

TAIYANGNEWS VIRTUAL CONFERENCE ON DISTRIBUTED SOLAR: OPTIMIZING PV POWER SUPPLY FOR HOMES & BUSINESSES

#Block28-29May for TaiyangNews #VirtualConference on Distributed Solar.

Distributed PV systems are rapidly expanding their footprint in the global solar energy landscape. Accounting for nearly 2/3rds of new PV installations in Europe last year, the trend towards rooftop solar can be seen in major Asian-Pacific solar markets as well, with China leading the charge. Of the 216 GW AC of PV capacity installed in 2023, nearly 100 GW were distributed PV systems.

With rooftop solar, the residential segment in particular, being less price-sensitive than ground-mount applications, an increasing number of companies are addressing building-attached solar. And with quickly rising electrification shares of the energy needs in the built environment, customers are increasingly opting for solar plus storage to power their homes, businesses, as well as heat and transport energy requirements.

To look at the different needs and boundary conditions for the residential and C&I segments, TaiyangNews’ 2nd Distributed Solar Conference will be spread across 2 days – one day will focus on private homes, and the second day on C&I. The dates are May 28-29, from 09:30 to 12:30 CEST.

Themed Optimizing PV Power for Homes & Businesses, the 2-day Conference will see major stakeholders from market research, manufacturing, distribution, design and installation. They include LONGi Solar , JA Solar , 天合光能 , Jinko Solar Co., Ltd. , DAH Solar , Hopewind , Memodo GmbH , Wood Mackenzie , Exawatt - now part of CRU , encentive , RCT Power , SolarPower Europe to discuss the latest developments in the rooftop solar space.

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