Norsk Solar, an independent solar power producer focused on commercial and industrial (C&I) projects in high-growth markets, has been granted a 'Certificado de Recebíveis Imobiliários' (CRI) from the Brazilian asset manager Valora Investimentos. The green bond will provide over 50,000,000 BRL (ca. 10,000,000 USD) in financing in the form of non-recourse project debt for Norsk Solar's 18 MW solar plant in Brazil. Construction on six sites included in the project are underway.
When complete, the project will produce 18 MW of renewable power and generate recurring revenue for 25 years, under the terms of the power purchase agreement (PPA) with corporate offtaker Órigo Energia. The project will offset approx. 257,400 tonnes of CO2 emissions equivalent over the systems' lifetimes.
'Norsk Solar is proud to help Brazil reach its decarbonization goals by increasing access to solar power. The green bond is an innovative mechanism for climate investment, and a useful part of our project financing toolkit, providing an attractive leverage, extended tenor and lower interest costs, improving future cash distributions,' said Øyvind L. Vesterdal, CEO in Norsk Solar.
The 15-year green bond structured for the financing of the solar projects has been issued with the support of the Brazilian asset manager Valora Investimentos.
The project has successfully received the equity investment from Norsk Solar and its project partners, Norfund and Finnfund via the platform company, Nordic Impact Cooperation.
'The innovative financing tools offered by the CRI structure will allow a strong and efficient development of our pipeline in the Geração Distribuída GD (distributed generation). This transaction confirms the firm interest of Brazilians and international investors into the local solar market,' said Mauro Benedetti, Country Manager Norsk Solar - Brazil.
'We are very happy to have contributed to the first project finance debt structure of Norsk Solar in Brazil. Financing clean energy projects is one of Valora's main goals in the infrastructure segment,' said Cristina Tamaso, co -head of infrastructure and ESG investments from Valora Investimentos.
Source: Norsk Solar
