NTR Completes c.£38 Million Financing Deal with Rabobank
Murley Wind Farm, Northern Ireland and Ockendon Solar Farm, London will have a combined capacity of 80 MW
Innovative financing partnership with co-operative bank, Rabobank
Ockendon Solar Farm will provide BT Group with renewable electricity through new Power Purchase Agreement
Dublin, September 21, 2022: NTR, a leading sustainable infrastructure investor and asset manager, is pleased to announce that it has successfully completed the combined financing of two projects – Murley Wind Farm and Ockendon Solar Farm – in partnership with Rabobank who have provided c.£38 million of debt.
Bringing these two wind and solar projects together in an innovative two-stage financial structure enables NTR to finance fully merchant revenues for Murley Wind Farm by combining them with Ockendon solar project revenues which are backed by a power purchase agreement (PPA) with BT Group who will use 100% of the power generated by Ockendon over 10 years.
The solar farm at Ockendon is considered to be one of Europe’s largest solar farms constructed on a repurposed landfill site and is situated close to London, where there is significant demand for clean power. Construction on the 58.8 MWp site has already commenced. Murley Wind Farm is a 21.6MW ready-to-build wind farm with six wind turbines located in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. Construction of this project is expected to commence in the coming months.
Once fully operational, the sites will have a combined capacity of just over 80 MW, producing enough clean power to serve over 37,000 homes from Q4 2023.
Through the partnership between NTR and Rabobank, the expertise of both businesses was drawn upon to deliver this innovative two-stage project financing.
Nick Forster, Head of Structured Finance for NTR commented:
“NTR and Rabobank are both dedicated to driving the European clean energy transition, and we are particularly pleased to have partnered with Rabobank on these two projects in such an innovative way. We collaborated well to develop a financing structure that enables a merchant project like Murley to be built to provide much needed clean power in Northern Ireland while preserving optimal sustainable returns for our investors.”
Marc Schmitz, Head of Project Finance Renewables Europe for Rabobank commented:
“Rabobank is pleased to have supported NTR in structuring and financing Murley and Ockendon. Both projects will directly contribute to the decarbonization goals in the UK, making this transaction a perfect fit with Rabobank’s mission to be the bank of the energy transition. This transaction also represents a milestone in our collaboration and relationship with NTR, a leading developer in renewable energy projects.”
Cyril Pourrat, Chief Procurement Officer at BT Group said:
“As one of the largest private purchasers of electricity in the UK, today’s announcement not only underpins our commitment to use 100% renewable electricity worldwide where markets allow, it sends a clear signal to the market that renewable energy is a key enabler to reach net zero by 2050 in the UK.”
Pinsent Masons acted as legal advisors to NTR and Natural Power acted as technical advisor. Rabobank was advised by DLA Piper.
ENDS
Enquiries:
Gilly Lock / Genevieve Ryan
Powerscourt
Telephone: +44 (0) 20 7250 1446
Email: ntr@powerscourt-group.com
About NTR
Established in 1978, NTR is an experienced sustainable infrastructure investor and asset manager driving Europe’s clean energy transition. NTR develops, constructs and operates renewable energy projects in over 50 locations across six European countries, specialising in wind, solar and energy storage. With approximately €1.2 billion of capital deployed, NTR has developed, constructed and operated close to 3GW of wind, solar and energy storage projects to date.
NTR’s mission of developing, constructing, and operating sustainable infrastructure in a responsible manner means that we incorporate an ESG mindset into every stage of the business. From initial investment assessment through to operational projects, NTR aims to have a positive impact on the environment and society while maintaining strong governance and risk management oversight.
For more information please visit: www.ntrplc.com
About Rabobank
Group Rabobank is an international financial services provider operating based on cooperative principles. It offers retail banking, wholesale banking, private banking, leasing and real estate services. As a cooperative bank, Rabobank puts customers’ interests first in its services. Rabobank’s Project Finance team has a global presence and focuses on advising on, structuring, arranging and underwriting (complex) project finance transactions. The team has a strong focus on the renewable energy and infrastructure sectors. Project Finance generates added value for our clients by combining its expertise across the entire spectrum of financing and in close co-operation with other disciplines within the bank. This is what enables us to provide our clients with services of the highest quality. For more information about the Rabobank Group please visit www.rabobank.com
About BT Group
BT Group is the UK’s leading provider of fixed and mobile telecommunications and related secure digital products, solutions and services. We also provide managed telecommunications, security and network and IT infrastructure services to customers across 180 countries.
BT Group consists of four customer-facing units: Consumer serves individuals and families in the UK; Enterprise and Global are our UK and international business-focused units respectively; Openreach is an independently governed, wholly owned subsidiary, which wholesales fixed access infrastructure services to its customers – over 650 communication providers across the UK.
For the year ended 31 March 2022, BT Group’s reported revenue was £20,850m with reported profit before taxation of £1,963m.
British Telecommunications plc is a wholly-owned subsidiary of BT Group plc and encompasses virtually all businesses and assets of the BT Group. BT Group plc is listed on the London Stock Exchange.
For more information, visit www.bt.com/about