Financing deals: $1.3 billion for Reden expansion, Brookfield-backed Evren raises $600m for 1 GW hybrid project

Large solar, storage, and renewables developers and operators have announced significant funding deals, with nearly $2 billion raised across asset-backed loans and debt.

In the bigger deal, French solar and storage operator Reden, backed by a consortium including Macquarie Asset Management, British Columbia Investment Management Corporation (BCI) and Munich Ergo Asset Management(MEAG), announced it had had completed a €1.1bn (USD 1.29 billion) deal, detailed as a “pan-European platform refinancing” backed by its own operational and under-construction assets.

A “diversified banking syndicate” of “more than 10” unnamed lenders provided the funding, as Reden aims to both streamline its current funding structure and aim for growth and expansion for its solar and energy storage portfolio, which stands at 1.1 GW of installed capacity and operates across Europe and Central and South America, including France, Spain, Portugal, Greece, Italy, Germany, Mexico, Puerto Rico and Chile.

Frank Demaille, Chief Executive Officer of the REDEN Group, commented that the deal would go on “strengthening our ability to execute our strategy with focus and agility”.

Massive deal in India

In India, Brookfield-backed Evren announced it had raised $600 million to develop its 1 GW solar-wind hybrid project with storage. Using Indian terminology of a “firm and dispatchable renewable energy” hybrid project, it will be located in Andhra Pradesh and Rajasthan.

Evren, which is 51% owned by Brookfield’s Global Transition Fund II (BGTF II), and 49% owned by Axis Energy, didn’t announce the exact energy storage aspects in terms of power or capacity splits, and Andhra Pradesh and Rajasthan are not neighbouring districts. (Axis lists a 1 GW wind-solar project to be located in Andhra Pradesh, including 1,000 MW of wind at Hebbatam & Maddikera, and 400 MW of solar at Gummanur, which are regional towns.)

More clear are the lenders for the project, which include SMBC, Standard Chartered Bank, MUFG, DBS Bank, Crédit Agricole CIB, and BNP Paribas. Evren also said it entered into a power purchase agreement with public utility NTPC for a contracted capacity of 300 MW.

“Scheduled for commissioning in 2027, the project is expected to generate approximately 2,400 GWh annually and is projected to displace over 1.5 million tonnes of CO₂ emissions each year,” it said in a statement.