GBN Member Transaction Database

The 200MW (AC) Kiamal Solar Farm, near Ouyen in north-west Victoria, is the first Australian project for major French renewable energy independent power producer Total Eren. Total Eren is the majority equity investor in Kiamal Solar Farm, while the CEFC has taken a A$51 million equity stake. The solar farm is also supported by a debt financing package of approximately A$250 million involving Australian and European banks ANZ, ING and Natixis.

On completion, Kiamal Solar Farm is expected to generate enough power for 133,500 homes and will abate 610,000 tonnes of carbon emissions annually. The project will install a 190MVAr synchronous condenser to improve grid strength in the region, facilitating a timely connection to the Victorian Transmission System, as well as strengthening the grid in north-western Victoria for the longer term. Synchronous condensers operate in a similar way to large electric motors and generators and enable the grid to resist large changes in power system frequency that arise from imbalances in supply and demand.

Total Eren is also working with TransGrid to deliver a new 220 kV Kiamal Terminal Station and Collector Substation, with the two 180MVA transformers designed and manufactured locally by Wilsons Transformers in Victoria.

Kiamal’s estimated output is fully contracted through a collection of long-term offtake agreements that involves energy companies Alinta and Flow Power, Zero Emissions Water – a consortium of 13 water authorities, and Mars Australia.

The patchwork of PPAs represent a new model that demonstrates a way forward for manufacturers, governments and other major commercial enterprises seeking ways of controlling their future energy costs. Total Eren is seeking to expand the Kiamal Solar Farm with a second stage and is exploring commercial options for battery storage up to an approved 270MW/1,080MWh.

NY Green Bank committed US$6.0 million to finance the construction and operation of a cluster of energy efficient robotic greenhouses developed by Agbotic, Inc. The Project is located in Sackets Harbor, NY and will grow certified organic produce for sale into local markets, while the Project’s energy efficiency measures and on-site generation are expected to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. This is NYGB’s first investment in a controlled environment agricultural asset as part of its ongoing efforts to create and expand new asset classes of sustainable infrastructure investments. The transaction creates an important precedent in the CEA sector and signals to the market that project financings are available to experienced CEA producers with high-quality assets.

NY Green Bank committed US$15.0 million to finance at least five energy efficiency or distributed generation projects in New York State. NYGB’s participation in this transaction provides a scalable financing model and establishes performance history for financing involving energy efficiency for medium sized, unrated commercial and institutional customers, a market segment that historically has had difficulty accessing capital for otherwise technically and economically feasible efficiency projects.

Sydney based innovator Morse Micro is developing Wi-Fi HaLow silicon chips that use a fraction of the power consumed by traditional Wi-Fi chips and offer long-range, secure Wi-Fi for Internet of Things technologies. The Wi-Fi HaLow chip uses the 900MHz radio band, which is lower than the 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands used by conventional Wi-Fi. It allows signals to reach further and pass through objects better using less power. It supports long-lasting battery life on devices which is an important feature for remote field-based applications.

Over 8,000 devices can be connected to a single access point, with data rates of many megabits-per-second. This enables use in a wide range of applications; beyond the traditional IoT use cases of smart homes and sensor networks to industrial controls, asset management, video, retail signs and displays.

The Clean Energy Innovation Fund invested A$1.8 million as part of the A$23.8 million Series A capital raising by Morse Micro in May 2019. The capital raising will help bring the Wi-FI HaLow chips to mass production and commercialisation.

The Collector Wind Farm in NSW, being developed by RATCH-Australia, will be one of the first in Australia to use the 4.2MW V117 Vestas turbines. In addition, Vestas will use innovative drone and 3D imaging technology to deliver routine blade maintenance and data collection.

The Collector Wind Farm is located along the Cullerin Range south-west of Goulburn, which has some of the windiest conditions in NSW. With 54 wind turbines, the project is expected to generate 528GWh of energy annually, enough to meet the needs of around 80,000 average homes. The CEFC has committed A$180 million to the development as sole debt financier to support the accelerated delivery of the innovative circa A$360 million project.

A RATCH-Australia Community Enhancement Fund will invest A$240,000 into local projects each year over the 30-year life of the project. The funds will be invested into the region via a pair of community trusts that have been structured with significant involvement of the local community.

TCCL financed 50MW solar power project in the state of Maharashtra. The project was awarded under the government tender and has been operational for about 1.5 years. The power is being supplied to government owned power distribution company.

TCCL financed an operational 42 MW solar power project in the state of Telangana. The project has been developed by a large Indian conglomerate. It has been operational since Nov 2017 and the power is being supplied to government owned power distribution company.

TCCL financed 15 MW under-construction solar power project being developed in the state of Karnataka. The power generated from the project shall be supplied to private sector companies for their own consumption.

TCCL financed 46MW Wind power project in the state of Andhra Pradesh. The project was awarded under the government tender and the power is being supplied to a government owned power distributor.

NY Green Bank provided a 24-month senior secured US$1.0 million bridge loan facility to SUN8 PDC, LLC, which is jointly owned by Distributed Sun LLC and EWT Americas Inc. Bridge Loan proceeds will finance project interconnection advanced payments to New York State Electric & Gas Corporation and Rochester Gas and Electric Corporate for community distributed generation solar projects. This transaction is expected to provide New York State  residents and businesses with a greater variety of energy choices and, ultimately, lower-cost clean energy opportunities.

Families in three regional NSW cities – Bathurst Dubbo and Orange – will benefit from 220 new highly energy efficient homes for low income families. A significant portion of existing Housing Plus dwellings in regional NSW will also undergo clean energy retrofits so that they require less energy to operate for day-to-day living.

The homes, which will have rooftop solar and energy efficiency technologies installed, will be built to a minimum 7-Star National Housing Energy Rating System (NatHERS) standard.This is effectively a 40 per cent improvement on the energy efficiency achieved in homes built to the current minimum standard. The types of technology that may be used to reach the NatHERS target include rooftop solar, battery installations, heat pumps, additional insulation, double glazing, smart meters, LED lighting, and energy efficient white goods.

The CEFC’s debt finance of up to A$95 million will help deliver the homes, which will be constructed by three local developers in the three cities over the next 18 months to three years. The CEFC’s finance will also contribute to the retrofit program, which Housing Plus will use to deliver energy efficiency solutions and rooftop solar installations across existing homes in its state-wide portfolio.

Award-winning Australian manufacturer Omni Tanker Holdings, which produces innovative carbon fibre tank containers, is expanding its business to meet international shipping demand. Omni Tanker is drawing on a A$4 million equity investment from the Clean Energy Innovation Fund to commercialise its technology in the bulk liquid transport equipment market. The Omni road tanker and the OmniTAINER®, a portable tank container (ISO tank), are designed for intermodal applications. Omni Tanker’s ISO standard carbon fibre tank containers are six times the strength of steel tankers, and more than 35 per cent lighter. They can transport a wide range of corrosive liquids and high purity chemicals.

The combination of light weight and exceptional chemical resistance of Omni Tanker’s carbon fibre tanks means transporting them requires less energy and produces lower emissions. Additionally, while traditional rubber lined stainless steel tanks are dedicated to one product and generally carry goods in only one direction, the chemical resistance and easy washout of the OmniTANK’s patented seamless thermoplastic interior means they can be two-way loaded, reducing asset down time and empty running, increasing the efficiency and capacity of transportation routes. The investment from the Clean Energy Innovation Fund is part of broader $7.9 million capital raising by Omni Tanker, which will substantially expand its NSW manufacturing plant and specialist workforce to increase production capacity.

Woolworths Group has issued the world’s first green bond by a supermarket business to fund its sustainability strategy. The A$400 million green bond launched in April 2019 is backed by a Green Bonds Framework and funds initiatives such as LED lighting, energy efficient fridges and solar panels as part of the retailer’s 2020 sustainability strategy. The CEFC secured a A$30 million tranche of the issuance. The CEFC’s investment in this bond enables the CEFC to continue its support for Australia’s emerging green bond market, actively monitor the secondary market for green bonds and gain useful insights into the emissions profile of Australia’s supermarkets. Woolworths Group includes well known Australian and New Zealand brands Woolworths, Countdown, Dan Murphy’s, BWS and Big W. It has over 3,000 stores, more than 200,000 employees. Since 2015 the group has reduced its emissions by 13 per cent. The Climate Bonds Initiative has certified the bonds and has developed a global low-carbon buildings criteria for supermarkets as a result of Woolworths’ commitment to green bonds. The Climate Bonds Initiative is an international, investor-focused not-for-profit organisation working to mobilise the $100 trillion bond market, for climate change solutions. The green bond, which sets new standards and expectations across the entire retail industry, creates a simple and highly transparent way for the private sector to invest in clean energy technologies. It provides a new asset class for institutional investors who have an increasing appetite for products that meet environmental, social and governance (ESG) requirements.

UK Climate Investments (UKCI) will underpin the development of a nationwide network of solar farms following an agreement to invest £30 million (INR 275 Crores) in one of India’s leading providers of renewable energy for commercial and industrial clients, CleanMax Solar. Founded in Mumbai in 2011, CleanMax Solar pioneered the ‘Energy Sale’ model in India through the development of distributed generation capacity across some the country’s largest cities. Partnering with commercial and industrial (C&I) clients to build new rooftop and ground-mounted solar generation projects, CleanMax Solar enables businesses to access clean, cheaper-than-grid electricity by removing the need for significant upfront capital investment. CleanMax Solar’s innovative business model has seen it quickly grow to become India’s top rooftop installer in 2018 and one of the country’s largest solar developers in the C&I market segment – operating 500 MW of distributed generation capacity across 340 sites. UKCI’s commitment will assist CleanMax Solar as it looks to scale its operations, providing it with the capital needed to expand its network of private solar farms across the country. UKCI is a joint venture between the Green Investment Group and the UK Government’s Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy. UKCI is managed by Macquarie Infrastructure and Real Assets, the world’s largest infrastructure manager.

TCCL financed Energy Efficiency projects across 6 location of a leading Indian ESCO. These projects are being developed under the Opex model wherein the payment by the user shall be made from the energy savings generated by the ESCO.

TCCL financed 15 MW under-construction solar power project being developed in the state of Karnataka. The power generated from the project shall be supplied to private sector companies for their own consumption.

TCCL financed 25 MW under-construction solar power project being developed in the state of Karnataka. The power generated from the project shall be supplied to private sector companies for their own consumption.

SGCH has delivered 31 new energy-efficient apartments in the Liverpool area that have features to help tenants keep their energy use and household running costs down. The apartment complex in Hoxton Park Road at Cartwright in south-western Sydney has a 7-star Nationwide House Energy Rating Scheme (NatHERS) rating. Features include high performing glass and insulation to floors, walls and ceilings, shading to windows, ceiling fans and solar panels. These features help tenants reduce their household running costs while SGCH saves on building operation costs, which allows it to provide more housing and services for customers. The six-storey building has a mix of one and two-bedroom apartments that offer tenants the opportunity to live close to work and health and education facilities. Tenants will also have access to tailored SGCH support coordination services and opportunities designed to improve their wellbeing. The development has been delivered as part of the NSW Government’s Social and Affordable Housing Fund (SAHF) Phase 1. The CEFC financed the apartment complex as part of its broader existing $170 million commitment to SGCH, to demonstrate the potential for more sustainable housing to deliver better long-term outcomes for tenants, providers and the environment. SGCH is a leading not-for-profit community housing provider with over 30 years’ experience in developing and managing sustainable, safe and affordable homes.

In April 2019, CT Green Bank announced the sale of $38.6 million investment-grade rated asset-backed security (ABS) notes. This innovative first-of-its-kind issuance monetizes the solar home renewable energy credits (SHRECs) generated through the Residential Solar Investment Program (RSIP). The sale was comprised of two tranches of SHRECs produced by more than 105 megawatts of 14,000 residential solar photovoltaic (PV) systems. The SHRECs were aggregated by the Green Bank and sold in annual tranches to Connecticut’s two investor-owned utilities, Eversource Energy and United Illuminating Company, at a fixed, predetermined price over 15 years. The funds raised through this sale will recover the costs of administering and managing the RSIP, including the incentives offered to residential participants in the program.

The Green Bank worked with Kestrel Verifiers to certify that this issuance conforms with the Climate Bonds Standard.  Further, it partnered with the Climate Action Reserve (CAR) to independently assess the impact of the systems in tranches one and two of the SHRECs. CAR estimates that these systems will produce 238,000 MWh of electricity each year, avoiding the emission of approximately 749,494 tonnes carbon dioxide equivalents (tCO2e) of greenhouse gases (GHGs).  CAR leveraged the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Avoided Emissions Generation Tool (AVERT) and Co-Benefits Risk Assessment (CoBRA) in their assessment of air quality and public health impacts respectively.

GIG provided debt financing for an innovative battery-based energy storage project in Southern California. It is the project’s third debt financing and will fund the completion of its construction.  The financing funds construction of an additional 97 MWh portfolio and, once fully constructed, will complete a 63 MW / 340 MWh project for Southern California Edison (SCE) of behind-the-meter, battery storage systems located in grid-constrained pockets of the West Los Angeles Basin service territory. CIT Group, which led the initial financing through its Power and Energy Finance unit, was also the lead lender in the second financing in December and this financing, which was joined by Rabobank, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation and ING. Macquarie acquired the original portfolio from AMS in August 2016 and together Macquarie and AMS have been jointly developing and constructing it. The project’s first debt financing in 2017 was a first-of-its kind non-recourse project financing of distributed battery-based energy storage systems. The fleet of energy storage systems, which are located at various large-load commercial, industrial and government host sites in Los Angeles and Orange counties, will be used for utility grid services including flexible and reserve capacity, solar integration and voltage management in addition to retail energy services such as demand management, back up generation and enhanced power quality.

Covanta Holding Corporation and Green Investment Group Limited announced financial close on a deal in which they will each own 40 percent of the state-of-the-art Rookery South Energy Recovery Facility in Bedfordshire, England. Primary waste supplier Veolia ES (UK) Limited (“Veolia”) owns the remaining 20 percent. The Rookery facility will provide 545,000 tonnes of annual treatment capacity for non-recyclable waste, further enabling the UK to achieve national self-sufficiency in managing waste and compliance with landfill diversion targets. Veolia will deliver the majority of Rookery’s waste supply under a long-term contract, with the balance of the waste sourced through other commercial, industrial and municipal counterparties. In processing this waste, Rookery will generate over 60 megawatts of electricity which will be sold into the grid on a merchant basis, powering the equivalent of over 112,500 homes. Construction of the facility will be led by Hitachi Zosen Inova under a turnkey engineering, procurement and construction contract and is expected to take approximately 36 months to complete. Over 300 jobs will be created during the construction period providing related benefits to the local economy. Many opportunities will also be created for the local supply chain with a commitment from the project to purchase goods and services from local companies wherever possible. Covanta will provide technical oversight during construction and will supply operations and maintenance services when the project commences operations in 2022.

NY Green Bank committed US$68.75 million to finance the acquisition of 612.0 MW of operating largescale wind projects in New York State by funds managed by The Carlyle Group. These assets account for approximately 30% of current wind generation in NYS. As a Joint Lead Arranger in this transaction alongside other commercial banks, NYGB’s participation supports the long-term financing of large scale renewable projects in NYS that have merchant exposure. The recapitalization and proposed operational improvements are expected to extend the useful life of the projects, resulting in additional greenhouse gas reductions in NYS, and the retention of more than 40 clean energy jobs in the North Country and Western New York.

NY Green Bank committed US$31.25 million to the recapitalization of a portfolio of wind farms by BlackRock Global Renewable Power Fund II, including a 55.35 MW project in New York State. NYGB’s participation in this transaction – alongside other commercial banks – supports the long-term financing of a large scale renewable project in NYS that has merchant exposure, as well as the secondary market for assets of this type. The existence of a robust secondary market supports even greater development of large scale renewables through the availability of greater sources of capital interested in investing in this asset class. In addition, NYGB’s involvement in this transaction contributes to ratepayers’ greater energy choices, and ultimately, lower-cost clean energy opportunities.

Melbourne’s distinctive Collins Arch building is set to be a landmark in urban sustainability, targeting industry leading energy efficiency standards in a mixed-use building development.

The twin towers of the 47-level Collins Arch building – linked by an impressive skybridge – include 184 residential apartments, 50,000 square metres of premium office space across 24 levels, the 294-room 5-star W Hotel and a 1,000 square metre retail area.

The Collins Arch development will feature a range of industry leading clean energy technologies, including built in real-time energy monitoring and capacity for residential electric vehicle charging.

It will be designed to achieve a 5.5 star NABERS Energy rating for its premium commercial office space; a 4.5 star NABERS Energy rating for the W Hotel and a 7 star average NatHERS rating across the residential apartments.

The development will include high-efficiency air conditioning and energy efficient façade fabric insulation. Together these initiatives will lower energy consumption, lower carbon emissions and deliver improved operational efficiency across the project.

The clean energy initiatives are expected to deliver a minimum 20 to 25 per cent improvement on the development’s carbon footprint.

The CEFC has committed $100 million to the landmark development, which will shape the character of Melbourne’s city skyline for decades to come.  The CEFC’s finance for the project is about creating new environmentally-sustainable standards in Australian cities and locking in a low carbon approach to building design and management.

Delaware River Solar, LLC (DRS) is a NY-based solar development company based out of Callicoon, New York State (NYS), that finances, builds, and operates Community distributed generation (DG) projects. DRS engaged NYGB to provide financing support for the development of the DRS Community DG portfolio in NYS.

Under the New York State Public Service Commission Standardized Interconnection Requirements and Application Process, developers seeking interconnections for their projects are required to make a deposit of 25.0% of the interconnection upgrade estimates followed by full payment 120 business days later.

In April 2018, NY Green Bank entered into an agreement with DRS  to provide a $7.0 million bridge loan to finance the interconnection expenses of their community distributed generation projects in New York State. In July 2018, NYGB committed an additional $55.0 million to participate in a term loan to finance the capital costs of DRS’s Community DG portfolio of projects. In December 2018, NYGB committed a further $25.0 million to provide a construction facility for Community DG projects in NYS. Collectively, these transactions are initially expected to support the deployment of up to 70.0 megawatts of solar photovoltaic in NYS, providing residents and businesses with a greater variety of energy choices and, ultimately, lower-cost clean energy opportunities.