- The funds obtained will finance a Spanish solar photovoltaic portfolio with a target aggregate gross installed capacity of 605 MW.
- The agreement includes long-term project finance with a principal amount of €301 million of senior debt, a €29 million power purchase agreement guarantee line and a credit line facility of €17 million to cover a six-month debt service reserve account.
- This new financing agreement supports the soundness of Opdenergy’s business model and will help drive its business objectives, focused on reaching a capacity in operation and under construction of 3.3 GW by 2025.
Opdenergy, an independent renewable energy producer, has today signed a financing agreement with BBVA and the European Investment Bank (EIB) for the construction and commissioning of a solar photovoltaic portfolio in Spain with an expected total installed capacity of approximately 605 MW.
The facility, which falls within the green financing framework that Opdenergy announced last year with a second party opinion by Mercados Aries, has a tenor of between 18 and 18.5 years (including the construction phase) and includes a senior debt principal amount of around €301 million, a €29 million power purchase agreement guarantee line and a credit line facility of €17 million to cover a six-month debt service reserve account.
The projects included in this financing are located in different provinces of Spain such as Zaragoza, Teruel, Ciudad Real and Cuenca.
Through this new facility with BBVA, acting as sole bookrunner, and the EIB, Opdenergy demonstrates its ability to secure financing on competitive terms, backed by the support of major financial partners. With the debt raised, the company is taking a further step towards meeting its 2025 target of reaching a capacity of 3.3 GW of renewable energy projects in operation and under construction.
Luis Cid, CEO of Opdenergy, said: “This new financing agreement is a big step that will help us reach the objectives set out in our roadmap. We are very grateful to both BBVA and the European Investment Bank for supporting us and placing their trust in our business model, which is essential in order to meet global climate commitments in the coming years.”
Fernando Alonso, BBVA Spain Corporate and Business Director, added: “This new transaction reaffirms BBVA’s commitment to decarbonisation in Spain. It is our goal to accompany leading companies such as Opdenergy in their growth towards more sustainable business models. The commitment to clean energy sources is not only important for decarbonisation, but also for generating significant savings in companies’ income statements.”
EIB Vice-President Ricardo Mourinho Félix said: “As the EU climate bank and one of the largest financiers of climate action in the world, we put sustainable development at the heart of our activities. Thanks to this transaction, Opdenergy will contribute to ensuring security of energy supply while reducing Spanish dependence on imports as well as lowering the cost of energy bills, a key aspect given the current sharp spike in electricity and gas prices.”
Opdenergy has been supported by Watson Farley & Williams as legal advisor and Mercados Aries as technical advisor.
Background information
About the EIB
The European Investment Bank (EIB) finances projects in four priority areas: infrastructure, innovation, climate and environment, and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The EIB recently adopted its Climate Bank Roadmap to deliver on its ambitious agenda to support €1 trillion of climate action and environmental sustainability investments in the decade to 2030 and to allocate more than 50% of its financing to climate action and environmental sustainability by 2025. As part of the roadmap, all new EIB Group operations have been aligned with the goals and principles of the Paris Agreement since 2021.
About Opdenergy
Opdenergy is an independent renewable energy producer, or IPP, in Europe, the United States and Latin America with more than 15 years of experience. The company develops, builds, finances, manages and operates high quality renewable energy projects in several countries. Opdenergy has a platform of secured assets with a total gross installed capacity of 2.4 GW in operation, under construction and in pre-construction phases. In addition, Opdenergy has a portfolio of pipeline projects at different stages of development of around 11 GW that support its growth strategy.
Opdenergy plays an important role in the decarbonisation of energy in the different countries in which it operates. It is present and has pipeline projects in five markets in Europe (Spain, Italy, the United Kingdom, France and Poland), in the United States and in three markets in Latin America (Chile, Mexico and Colombia). Opdenergy has secured more than 2.6 GW under power purchase agreements in different countries with investment grade off-takers and in hard currency.
About BBVA and its commitment to sustainability
As part of its climate action, and within the framework of its 2025 commitment to progressively align its activity with the Paris Agreement, BBVA will provide €200 billion in sustainable financing between 2018 and 2025, doubling the amount established in the initial objective. As of March 2022, the entity had already financed €96.7 billion. The bank will also stop financing coal in developed countries by 2030 and elsewhere by 2040. It has also set targets to decarbonise its portfolio in four emission-intensive sectors by 2030, all with the aim of being carbon neutral by 2050, taking into account both the bank’s direct emissions (which have already been neutral since 2020) and indirect emissions.
BBVA has also been recognised as the top bank in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index’s global ranking.