AP: Taiwan – Offshore wind farm launched

The government of British Columbia has updated the shortlists of competing bidders on the Broadway subway and Pattullo Bridge replacement projects after the withdrawal of SNC-Lavalin as a lead on consortia bidding for the projects. SNC-Lavalin said it would withdraw from the projects in August but uncertainty remained on what the withdrawals would mean for the procurements. The shortlist on Patullo includes Fraser Community Connectors, led by Kiewit; the Flatiron/Dragados/Carlson Pattullo joint venture, led by Flatiron, Dragados, Carlson, ACS...

Texas Central Partners (TCP) has signed a design-build contract with a joint venture of Italy’s Salini Impregilo and its US subsidiary, Lane Construction, to supply the civil and infrastructure scope for the high-speed train between Houston and Dallas. The contract authorizes a set of early works to continue advancing engineering design, detailed planning, interface definition and other prerequisites to starting construction. The agreement is the result of the joint venture’s previous work providing front-end engineering and design for the...

The Cameron LNG project in Louisiana has declared force majeure due to “technical problems,” according to a report from Reuters citing information from traders. The project sent out eight cargoes after starting up in May and the latest cargo was shipped September 7. Cameron is sponsored by Sempra, Total, Mitsui, and Japan LNG Investment. In July the companies reached a revised construction agreement for the remainder of the project under a new contract with a joint venture of McDermott International and Chiyoda for Trains 2 and 3. In late May...

Laos and Cambodia are signing an agreement that involves the supply of 2.4GW of power capacity from Laos to Cambodia. The power deal, which is for 30 years, has been approved by respective energy ministries and the official signing is intended to coincide with the visit of Laotian prime minister Thongloun Sisolith to Cambodia to meet prime minister Hun Sen. The plants will be developed by Sekong Power and Mineral Company, and Xekong Thermal Power Plant Company, which will produce and export the power to Cambodia at US$0.077 per kWh. Development...

Longstanding project financiers are starting to take advantage of the generous MUFG redundancy package with Carol Gould and David Newman said to have left in August. In May the bank offered voluntary redundancy packages to 500 managing directors and directors in its London office. MUFG has 2,000 people in London.

Swiss energy trader Axpo said it will reverse SFr400m (€365m) of impairments thanks to rising European wholesale power prices. The impairments were related to its power production facilities and provisions for onerous energy procurement contracts for 2018/19. “The rise of European wholesale power prices in comparison to our previous assumptions as well as the respective forward prices for the upcoming three years indicate that the phase of record-low power prices is likely over,” said the Swiss energy trader. Axpo is one of the most active...

At least five banks are in discussions with Boralex to refinance its 1GW French onshore wind portfolio with €750m of debt, said a person close to the deal. The lenders include French banks Credit Agricole’s CIB unit and Unifergie subsidiary, CIC, and La Banque Postale, and Spain’s Caixabank. The Canadian sponsor is looking to refinance the debt backing 60 wind farms in the country and aims to close the deal in Q4. De Pardieu Brocas Maffei is advising the sponsor and Linklaters is advising the lenders.

Commerzbank has warned the German wind market is facing a sharp slowdown and called for an expansion of wind power installations. Commerzbank said only 287MW of new wind farms were installed in Germany in the first half of 2019. Developers installed 86 onshore wind turbines, including just 27 in the windiest regions in northern Germany. “German turbine manufacturers, their suppliers as well as project developers are increasingly facing economic pressure,” said Commerzbank. The bank said the tender legal framework and the project permitting...

Volkswagen has set up a joint venture with Swedish battery manufacturer Northvolt to build a 16GWh lithium-ion battery factory in Salzgitter, Lower Saxony, for its electric vehicles. Volkswagen agreed in June to invest €900m in Northvolt-led projects and will now direct part of the investment into the 50-50 joint venture, while another part will give the automaker a 20% stake in Northvolt. The JV aims to start building the Salzgitter factory in 2020 and begin production at the end of 2023 or the beginning of 2024. Volkswagen said it will need...

Greek privatisation fund HRADF has delayed the deadline for expressions of interest (EoI) to buy a 30% stake in Athens International Airport (AIA) to October 29 from September 30. The stake will be sold in two phases, an initial pre-qualification phase followed by binding offers. AIA operates Athens’ Eleftherios Venizelos airport, which handles 24m passengers per year including 16.4m international passengers. The state will keep a 25% stake in the airport operator. PSP-owned AviAlliance has 40% and Copelouzos has 5%.

BP and Kosmos are seeking a financial adviser for phases 2 and 3 on the Tortue gas field development. KBR is already working on the pre-FEED contract for the scheme. The final investment decisions on the schemes are due next year. Each project will add 3.7m tonnes per year to production. The scheme is being developed by BP and Kosmos, which hold 60% and 30% of the project, respectively. SMBC is advising the local state oil companies on the project - in Mauritania, SMHPM holds 10% of the equity and Petrosen in Senegal holds 10%.

Greencoat Capital’s Ireland-focused fund Greencoat Renewables has agreed to buy the 20MW Gortahile wind farm in County Laois from Glennmont Partners. The wind farm has eight Nordex turbines and started operating in August 2010, receiving subsidies under the REFIT 1 scheme. Nordex will continue to manage the wind farm’s O&M contract. Greencoat will fund the acquisition with its €380m credit facility and the deal is due to close on September 18. The wind farm will increase Greencoat Renewables’ Irish wind portfolio to 431MW. The assets...

Brockwell Energy has picked four banks to fund its next waste-to-energy (WtE) scheme in Scotland, the 21.6MW 216,000-tonnes-per-year Westfield scheme. The developer will use the same banks as on its Earls Gate deal that was financed earlier this year - ABN AMRO, Investec, MUFG and RBS. The scheme’s structure will be similar the Earls Gate project apart from the fact Brockwell will keep 100% of the equity and not include a combined heat and power element, although this could be added later. On Earls Gate, GIG took 50% of the equity. Around...

Duke Energy Renewables has acquired the 200MW Rambler solar project in Texas from Canadian Solar’s Recurrent Energy unit. The project in Tom Green County, Texas is expected to achieve commercial operation in mid-2020. The power output from Rambler will be sold to an undisclosed offtaker under a 15-year agreement and Duke will provide long-term operations and maintenance. Financial terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.

Three potential buyers have emerged for Philadelphia Energy Solutions’ (PES) refinery site. Los Angeles-based commercial real estate firm Industrial Realty Group has held talks with Philadelphia officials and union members on its plans for the site, which have not yet been revealed. Additional interested parties include Philadelphia Energy Industries, led by former PES chief executive Phil Rinaldi, and SG Preston, a Philadelphia-based biofuels company that has proposed to convert a portion of the site to manufacture renewable diesel, marine...

Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LA Metro) is planning to launch procurement next month to seek a private partner on the Sepulveda Pass monorail and subway corridor. LA Metro will use a pre-development agreement (PDA) for the first time in a large-scale public-private partnership, according to LA Daily News. Officials decided to use the PDA to recognise the technical value private sector companies can offer during the design process since they will later be operating and maintaining the project. The county is seeking...

Four companies aiming to join the bidding for National Highways Authority of India’s (NHAI) nine national road projects are seeking for more time to evaluate the highways. Local papers report that the four are Cube Highway, IRB Infrastructure, Larsen & Toubro, and Macquarie Group. The projects are being offered under a toll-operate-transfer (TOT) scheme that was introduced in 2016 to monetise publicly funded highways. Under the scheme, the selected developer will make a one-time lump sum payment, also referred as concession fee, for the highway...

MELBOURNE, Sept 13 (Reuters) - Inpex Corp, Japan’s top oil and gas company, wants to expand in Australia at its Ichthys liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant and through potential acquisitions, as part of a plan to become a major regional gas company, its Australian boss said. “In Australia our focus is on fully utilising our Ichthys LNG facilities while creating a solid base for future expansion,” Inpex’s president director for Australia, Hitoshi Okawa, told Reuters in an interview on Friday. Inpex completed construction last year on its first LNG...

The prime ministers of Laos and Cambodia are scheduled to witness the signing of an agreement today that involves the supply of 2.4GW of power capacity from Laos to Cambodia. The power deal, which is for 30 years, has been approved by respective energy ministries and the official signing is intended to coincide with the visit of Laotian prime minister Thongloun Sisolith to Cambodia to meet prime minister Hun Sen, according to reports. Signing the agreement will be heads of Electricite Du Cambodge (EDC) and Electricite du Laos (EdL). The...

Malakoff Corp and Electric Power Development Co, known as J-Power, have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to jointly evaluate and develop potential greenfield and brownfield power generation and water projects globally, including in Malaysia. The MoU will leverage J-Power’s operational and technical expertise that includes thermal, hydro and renewable power markets. Malakoff will share its expertise in the power and water desalination projects as well as other collaboration frameworks, including knowledge-sharing and technical services...

Malaysia’s Energy Commission (EC) has approved Tadmax Resources’ proposed development of the Pulau Indah power plant. Tadmax recently received the go-ahead letter from EC, about three years after the project was awarded. The status of the Pulau Indah power plant has been uncertain since May 2018 after the Pakatan Harapan government took control of Putrajaya. Tadmax plans to develop a combined-cycle gas and turbine power plant in Pulau Indah with a capacity of 1GW-1.2GW.

The Indian government is preparing to issue a new set of guidelines for road projects being offered on a build-operate-transfer (BOT) basis. The move is aimed to ensure the relevant government entity is prepared and equipped before a project is awarded to the private sector. The government also aims to reduce, if not totally eliminate, certain risks so that the private sector players will be attracted to develop these projects. The guidelines are said to include changes in the concession agreement and changes to the exit clauses, as well as...

Corvias has agreed to invest US$325m into its Department of Defense (DoD) portfolio to fund strategic modernization and resiliency improvements to US Army base housing infrastructure. The company has been selected as one of the DoD’s first Military Housing Privatization Initiative (MHPI) partners. Corvias will lead the energy management services, including the addition of renewable energy and sustainability services that create substantial portfolio efficiencies and improvements. It will do the energy work through Sunstone Development, a...

Solar projects are likely to overtake wind projects as the primary technology choice for corporate renewable energy procurements within the next couple of years, according to a report from Fitch. In a report entitled, “US Corporate Energy Procurement: A Key Avenue For Renewables Growth,” the ratings agency said it expects corporate renewable energy procurements to play an increasingly important role in supporting wind and solar power growth in the US, driven by “corporate sustainability initiatives, pressure from consumers, investors and peers...

Mexico-based firm Fermaca has reached an agreement with the Mexican government renegotiating contracts for its natural gas pipelines, President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador (AMLO) said. Fermaca was the final holdout in a process that has punctuated the summer, after AMLO tried to rework the deals on seven pipeline contracts. State power utility the Comision Federal de Electricidad (CFE) said in August that the agreements already reached with companies like IEnova and TC Energy had saved the country US$3.74bn. Fermaca’s La Laguna-Aguascalientes...

Dutch tank storage company Royal Vopak bought a 49% stake in Colombia’s only liquefied natural gas (LNG) import facility in Cartagena. The company purchased the stake in Sociedad Portuaria el Cayao (SPEC), with Promigas holding the remaining 51%. SPEC consists of a chartered floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU),an LNG jetty, onshore infrastructure, and a 9.2km gas pipeline that connects it to the national gas grid. The facility has long-term supply contracts with three gas-fired power plants in the area. The company has not yet...

The Chilean unit of Latin America Power (LAP) has signed new long-term power purchase agreements (PPA) totaling 250GWh per year through 2023 to mitigate a decrease in demand on the spot market. S&P Global Ratings affirmed its BBB- rating on LAP’s US$412m senior secured notes due 2033, but that could get downgraded in the next 12-24 months if spot prices decline to below US$40/MWh or if the demand haircut is above 30%. “Distribution companies’ demand for LAP’s output contracted in the past six months due to the Chile’s slowing GDP growth and the...

Turkish group Guris Construction & Engineering has raised US$40m to finance a 25MW wind farm in Belarus, the country’s largest. Guris was awarded the project in July as a pre-investment asset following a UN-backed tender in which it was the only bidder. Construction is expected to begin on the project in 2020 after which it will sell its power to Vitsebskenergo. It is hoped that the presence of an established company will help attract more direct investment in Belarus’ lagging renewables market.

Bulgaria’s cabinet has voted to initiate talks with ContourGlobal with a view to terminating a power purchase agreement (PPA) with state utility NEK for the Maritsa East 3 thermal power plant. The finance minister, energy minister and deputy prime minister have been mandated to conduct the negotiations.

Project adviser Navigant has added Judy Simon and Chris Snyder as directors in its energy team in Canada. Simon most recently led ICF’s Canadian energy practice while Snyder spent 11 years at CIBC, most recently as head of environment leading its climate change initiatives. Simon and Snyder will join Craig Sabine and Andrea Roszell in leading the energy practice.

Bulgaria’s cabinet has voted to initiate talks with ContourGlobal with a view to terminating a power purchase agreement (PPA) with state utility NEK for the Maritsa East 3 thermal power plant. Three high ranking officials - the finance minister, energy minister and deputy prime minister - have been mandated to conduct the negotiations. The move comes after the European Commission launched an investigation into whether the PPP represented illegal state aid after a complaint was filed by Bulgaria’s Energy and Water Regulatory Commission. The...

The banks that took part in the €1.2bn refinancing of French locomotive leasing firm Akiem have emerged. The lenders on the seven-year floating-rate bank tranche included ABN AMRO, BNP Paribas, Caixabank, CIC, Credit Agricole, Helaba, ING, KfW IPEX, La Banque Postale, SEB and Societe Generale. The refinancing included 10-year and 15-year private placement tranches provided by Schroders, Barings, MetLife and Apollo. Akiem owns and leases 440 electric and diesel locomotives, with an average eight-year life. In 2017 it generated revenues of €120m...

ArcelorMittal has finalised a detailed feasibility study (DFS) to upgrade and expand its Tokadeh iron mine. The DFS is part of the company’s commitment from 2013 to carry out a phase 2 expansion project for an extra 15m tonnes of capacity, which was delayed by the Ebola virus outbreak in 2014. The expansion will require a US$500m investment and is expected to extend the mine’s life by 27 years. CEO Scott Lowe told local press it was working with the government on amending its mineral development agreement. The parties are also in discussions...

SCD Group, the Saipem, Daewoo and Chiyoda joint venture, has been awarded the EPC contract for the Nigeria LNG Train 7 project. The final investment decision (FID) on the scheme will be taken in October by the NNPC-led consortium that also includes Royal Dutch Shell, Total and Eni. The selection will affect the financing of the project and the export credit agencies (ECAs) involved. Market soundings have already started on the US$3bn 12-year corporate-style loan to back the financing of Train 7. The deal is formally due out to banks in...

Nigeria’s Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC) will upgrade 22 teaching hospitals and build a new 500-bed specialist hospital through PPPs. While the concessionaires for the teaching facilities would see the scope of their responsibilities limited to the financing, procurement and maintenance of dialysis, imaging, diagnostic service and other units, the new state-of-the-art facility in Abuja will be a full concession. The government envisions proceeding with the PPPs without any increase in consumer and medical costs. The...

Piraeus Bank has joined an initiative of the EIB and the Greek government to invest €650m in infrastructure and renewable energy. The initiative is based on a €450m infrastructure fund of funds, combining grants from European structural and investment funds, national funds sourced from an EIB loan and proceeds from previous investment of the EU Jessica initiative. The EIB expects this will leverage an extra €200m of financing and spur projects that have lagged behind for lack of funding in recent years. Piraeus will initially use €32m from...

Finnish investor Taaleri has bought the 34MW Haram wind farm in western Norway from developer Zephyr. The project in More og Romsdal county, 20km north of Alesund, will have eight Vestas turbines and generate 112GWh per year. Zephyr will continue as construction management consultant and technical and commercial management provider during the operational phase. The wind farm, owned by the Taaleri SolarWind II fund, will start operating in the first quarter of 2021.

The launch of a tender for the NKr10bn (€1bn) Rv 555 bridge and motorway PPP near Bergen is facing more delays as public discontent over high tolls takes centre stage in Norwegian politics. Voters in regional elections this month largely backed minority parties, including anti-toll party FNB, against the ruling Conservatives. Norwegian road authority Vegvesen put the tolled Rv 555 project’s timeline under review at the beginning of the year and was looking to set a new tender schedule in summer, but the PPP’s launch could now slip into next...

Slovenia’s government and the EU have approved €20m for co-financing a district heating and renewable energy tender. The money, from the EU’s Cohesion Fund, will be used to help winning investors finance their projects, whether it be expanding existing systems, building new ones or constructing new wood biomass boilers as an energy and heat source. The tender is running in phases, with the first and second deadlines passing in April and July. The third deadline is October 4. The government will co-finance up to 20% of the eligible costs, but...

French investor InfraVia has bought the 175MW Bjorkvattnet wind project in Sweden from developers Vindparken and WindSpace, in its first wind deal in the country. GE will install 33 5.3MW turbines at the plant, expected to cost about €150m and due to start operating by the end of 2020. InfraVia is set to sign a power purchase agreement (PPA) to sell the project’s electricity production and has lined up debt financing. NewSec and Mannheimer Swarling advised the sponsor.

The banks in the refinancing of the midco facilities on the Cadent Gas deal are Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Barclays, BNP Paribas, Credit Agricole, Lloyds, Mizuho, Morgan Stanley, MUFG, NatWest, RBC, Santander and TD. The size of the deal has been upsized to £1.64bn from £1.3bn, the tenor remains at five years and the pricing has dipped to well below 100bp from 120bp.

AES Corp, through special purpose vehicles, has closed US$238.1m in project finance debt backing a pair of wind farms in Argentina. Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) provided US$115.5m backing development, construction and operation of the 100MW Energetica wind farm near Tres Picos in Buenos Aires and US$122.6m backing the 100.5MW Vientos Neuquinos near Bajada Colorada in Neuquen. Total project costs for Energetica are US$172.4m meaning leverage of around 66%, while they are US$170.2m for Vientos Neuquinos meaning leverage of...

Local utility Omega Geracao will sell new shares to raise up to R$1.21bn (US$300m) to part-fund the acquisition of operating power assets. The initial offer will be 27.69m shares. That figure could jump 35% on positive market conditions, according to a company statement. Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Credit Suisse, BTG Pactual, XP Securities, and Santander Investment Securities are running the deal. Omega is a power utility with a focus on renewables projects. The company’s assets include the Pirapora solar complex, Brazil’s largest, and the...

Infrastructure Ontario (IO) is working on 32 P3 projects, including 10 in procurement and 22 in the pre-transaction phase, it said in its annual market update. The total estimated capital costs of the projects in the pipeline, including projects in pre-transaction and transaction phase, is more than C$65bn (US$49bn). The pipeline is the largest in IO’s history. IO said several projects are in planning for potential P3s, including several that had not previously been discussed. The projects in planning include Quinte Healthcare Corp’s Prince...

Canadian independent power producer Maxim Power has entered two credit agreements to fund the construction and development of its 204MW M2 gas-fired power plant near Grande Cache, Alberta. The first loan is a C$22m (US$17m) one-year revolver priced at 12%. The second is a C$75m one-year convertible loan priced at 12%. The convertible loan will be initially drawn to repay the project’s construction loan. Alpine Capital and Prairie Merchant Corporation are the lenders on the loans. Maxim expects M2 to cost approximately C$144m, excluding...

Aethon Minerals has signed an earn-in with option to joint venture agreement with Rio Tinto for the latter to acquire an interest in the Arcas copper project. The agreement allows Rio Tinto to acquire up to a 75% stake in Arcas by incurring up to US$25m in exploration expenditures. The Arcas project is in the Antofagasta region, 245km northeast of Antofagasta city in the Atacama Desert. The agreement represents the first major works at the site since it was drilled by an affiliate of Teck in 2010. Despite being adjacent a major mineral belt,...

Hanwha-owned solar power developer 174 Power Global has closed construction financing for the US$210m 150MW first phase of the Oberon solar project near Odessa, Texas. Credit Agricole and the Korea Development Bank (KDB) were lead arrangers on the construction and term debt. The deal comprises a US$96.5m term loan, US$5m revolver, and US$42.3m standby letter of credit, all maturing in August 2025, and a US$65.3m bridge maturing in April 2020. JP Morgan Chase is providing an eight-year solar hedge for a portion of the project output. An...

The University of Illinois (UI) is preparing to sign a US$20.1m power purchase agreement (PPA) for a second solar project to power the campus, according to The News-Gazette covering the Champaign–Urbana area of the state. Sol Systems will design, build and operate the 10MW project under the 20-year contract and sell the energy to the campus for US$46 per MWh. The price represents a US$200,000-$300,000 annual savings over what the UI paid in 2018 for electricity purchased off the grid, at about US$63 per MWh. It also represents a savings over...

International Finance Corporation (IFC) has provided a US$100m loan to Spain’s Banco Sabadell to lend to sustainable infrastructure projects across Mexico. Sabadell will administer the loan and channel the funds to clients seeking to develop hotel projects and green buildings that promote practices such as energy efficiency, rational water management, waste removal, and reduction of harmful emissions.

Bracewell has hired Todd Eckland as a partner in the corporate and securities group of the New York office and the global energy team. Eckland was previously a senior partner and co-leader of the securities team at Pillsbury Winthrop for more than 15 years. Eckland has 30 years’ experience representing investment banks and public and private companies in capital market transactions including project finance across the energy, technology and life science sectors. He is the ninth veteran lawyer to join Bracewell’s global energy team in the last...

ACWA Power has been confirmed as the winner of the 2x125MW US$300m Scaling Solar project. It was the only bidder last week. It bid US$0.02526/KWh for both projects, backed by debt from ICBC. The bid read out last week was for US$0.0252/kWh and US$0.0289/kWh but in the end the lower figure was accepted.

SINGAPORE, Sept 12 (IFR) - Edra Solar Power plans to sell Malaysia’s first sustainable project financing sukuk at the end of this month, pitting it against another solar Islamic bond planned by Cypark Ref. Of the two deals, which will raise a combined M$795m (US$181.2m), Cypark Ref’s sustainable and responsible investment sukuk offering has a more complex structure. Cypark Ref, owned by engineering and infrastructure company Cypark Resources, is the turnkey contractor for three 30MW solar projects owned by different companies – Cypark Estuary...

DEME parent company Ackermans & Van Haaren has put its 12.5% stake in the 396MW Merkur offshore wind farm up for sale along with, according to reNews, the project’s other shareholders - Partners Group, InfraRed and Coriolis. The operational project was refinanced last year with a €1.5bn debt package via DZ, LBBW, DekaBank, Aviva, La Banque Postale, BNP Paribas, CaixaBank, ING, KfW IPEX, SEB, SMBC and Societe Generale. Equinor is rumoured to be looking to sell another recently completed German offshore wind deal, the 385MW Arkona scheme it...

The World Bank’s MIGA has issued €6.9m in guarantees to support two Engie and Meridiam-owned solar farms in Senegal. The 35MW Kahone and 25MW Kael projects reached financial close in July after the French joint venture was awarded the projects in Senegal’s Scaling Solar tender in April 2018. The MIGA guarantee, issued alongside the IFC project loans, provides protection against non-commercial risks for up to 15 years. EIB and Proparco were involved in the €38m debt facility. The projects will sell their power to state utility Senelec under...

Australian Capital Territory (Canberra), one of the first government entities to hold a reverse auction for renewables, is planning an auction for 200MW of wind or 250MW of solar coupled with 20MW/40MWh of battery storage. The auction is expected to begin on November 15 and run into early 2020 with the ACT government offering a 10-year power purchase agreement. In its previous auction the PPA was for 20 years.

Canberra Metro, comprising Pacific Partnerships, CPB Contractors (CIMIC), John Holland, Mitsubishi Corp, Aberdeen Infrastructure Investments, Deutsche Bahn International and CAF with MUFG advising is in talks with the Australian Capital Territory government to deliver Stage 2A of the Canberra light rail project. The ACT government recently approved the business case for the project. Canberra Metro built Stage 1 of the project funded through a A$650m (US$447m) five-year debt facility provided by MUFG, ANZ, CBA, Societe Generale, Scotia and HSBC...

Reliance Power (RPower) signed a 22-year power purchase agreement (PPA) and land lease agreement (LLA) with Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) on September 1 for its 750MW gas-fired power plant in Meghnaghat, Narayanganj district, 40km south-east of Dhaka. Other project documents that were signed include a gas supply agreement with Titas Gas, a subsidiary of Petrobangla, for the supply of gas to the power project; and an implementation agreement with Ministry of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources. The signing of the documents was held...

Rajasthan Renewable Energy Corporation (RRECL) is calling for bids to develop 113.5MW solar projects across various clusters of the state. The projects will include the installation of solar systems between 0.5MW and 2MW and will be developed on a build-own-operate (BOO) basis. The last date for the submission of bids is October 11. Rajasthan Rajya Vidyut Utpadan Nigam (RVUNL) will provide a 25-year power purchase agreement.

Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) is extending the bid submission date for its tender for 6GW of solar linked to 2GW of solar manufacturing components. The new date for bid submissions is October 11 instead of September 11. No details were given as to why the auction deadline was extended. This is the third time the auction, which began last January, has been extended. Developers have previously said that the tariff cap of Rs2.75 per kWh (US$0.039/kWh) for 25 years is too high.

Edra Solar plans to issue a M$245m (US81m) Asean Sustainability SRI sukuk to take out shareholders’ loans that were extended to its 50MW Kuala Ketil solr power plant which started commercial operations in February this year. RAM has assigned a preliminary AA2/Stable credit to the proposed facility. RAM Consultancy Services, a provider of sustainability services and environmental, social and governance (ESG) analytics, has assigned Tier-1 environmental benefit (Tier-1 EB) and Tier-3 social benefit (Tier-3 SB) ratings to the proposed issue. The...

The Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) plans to push for government approvals for unsolicited proposals that involve the construction of new, and modernisation of existing sea terminals in the country. One project, the most advanced, is the Ps11bn (US$212m) Davao Sasa Port Development proposal from Chelsea Logistics and Infrastructure. It has been submitted to National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) Investment Coordination Committee (ICC), the final approving body before a project undergoes a Swiss Challenge. “We are done with the...

More details have emerged on the NT dollar green bond that Orsted plans to raise to finance its Greater Changhua offshore wind projects (see yesterday’s e). The size is understood to be around NT$60bn (US$2bn) and tenor is likely to be 18 years although this could be stretched to 20 years depending on market appetite. It is aiming to issue the bond before the end of the year. Orsted has selected BNP Paribas and Bank of Taiwan as mandated lead arrangers, and CTBC Bank and Deutsche Bank join as arrangers. Separately, a project finance loan of...

The US Department of the Interior (DOI) Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) is planning to compete its supplemental environmental impact statement (EIS) on the Vineyard Wind project off Massachusetts “late this year or early next year,” BOEM said on its Web site. The supplemental EIS will then proceed to a public comment period, the timeline for which has not yet been disclosed. BOEM will also hold public meetings during the comment period. In early August BOEM said it would delay publication of the project’s final environmental impact...

Moody’s has upgraded ratings and revised outlooks on several projects days after bankrupt California utility PG&E submitted a proposal for its reorganization that keeps long-term power purchase agreements (PPAs) in place. The ratings agency upgraded Panoche Energy Center’s US$209m senior secured notes to Caa1 from Caa2 and revised the outlook to positive from negative; upgraded Crockett Cogeneration’s US$93.3m senior secured notes to Caa1 from Caa3 and revised the outlook to positive from negative; affirmed ExGen Renewables IV’s B2 rating on...

Spain’s Solarpack has closed its US$51.5m acquisition of a 90.5% stake in the combined 43MW Tacna Solar and Panamericana Solar schemes from Tawa Solar Fund, taking its holding in the schemes to 100%. The company concurrently closed a bridge loan for US$30m through Banco Santander to partly finance the acquisition. For the amortization of the bridge loan, Solarpack contemplates several options that may involve the entry of a minority partner in the projects or maintaining full ownership of the assets. The projects had a long-term non-recourse...

Engie Energia Chile has signed an agreement to supply 100% renewable energy to power local bank Banco de Credito e Inversiones’ (BCI) operations in Chile. The agreement benefits six buildings for the next four years for around 11GWh per year. BCI is looking to use 100% renewable power by 2025 as an unregulated customer. The agreement will make BCI the first bank in Chile to have a 100% renewable power supply.

The EIB’s board has approved lending for three public-private partnerships and several renewable energy projects as part of a €7bn funding round. The bank cleared lending for the €500m A49 motorway between Schwalmstadt and Ohmtal-Dreieck in Germany, for which Strabag and Vinci are competing. The EIB also signed off on lending for the ViA15 motorway near Arnhem, the Netherlands, on which Hochtief and Macquarie teams are bidding, and the new Heraklion airport in Crete to be built by GEK Terna and GMR Airports. The EIB cleared lending for...

S&P has downgraded Exeltium to BBB– from BBB over concerns more customers could abandon the virtual power producer. The company, which is owned by large industrial electricity consumers and bulk-buys power from EDF, lost buyers accounting for 28% of its electricity for 2020-2024. S&P said there is a greater risk more clients will opt out of Exeltium’s take-or-pay contracts after 2025, even though its power price is competitive. Exeltium was financed with €1.435bn of bank and institutional debt amortising by 2030, with €1.033bn outstanding at...

Orsted has merged five German offshore wind projects into two to fast-track their development. It combined the neighbouring 420MW Borkum Riffgrund West 1, 240MW Borkum Riffgrund West 2 and 240MW Northern Energy OWP West projects into a wind farm called Borkum Riffgrund 3 to be built by 2024. It also merged the 110MW Gode Wind 3 and 132MW Gode Wind 4 schemes into a single project called Gode Wind 3, expected to start operating in 2023. Orsted won the right to build the projects in auctions in 2017 and 2018 but is yet to take a final investment...

Mkango Resources has appointed SENET as lead engineer and project manager for the Songwe Hill rare earths project in Malawi. SENET will conduct a feasibility study, which is expected to be completed in 2020. The study is being financed with a £7m investment agreement from Singapore-based Talaxis, a wholly-owned subsidiary of commodities trader Noble Group. Following the completion of the study, Talaxis has an option to acquire a 26% interest in the project by arranging development financing including the equity component.

The Cobra/Tawzea team submitted the lowest bid on the 270,000-cubic-metre Taif sewage treatment project (STP) at 107.9 halala/m3 (US$0.027/m3). Aqualia/Alkhireyah bid 116.28 halala/m3, Metito/Al Jomaih/Mowah bid 149.27 halala/m3 and Miahona/Orascom bid 150.48 halala/m3. The advisers on the scheme are Mizuho, White & Case and WS Atkins. Saudi Water Procurement Company (SWPC) is the client. Taif is in Mecca province.

Italy’s Falck Renewables has signed a seven-year power purchase agreement (PPA) to sell electricity from a 10MW Spanish wind farm to independent energy supplier Holaluz. Holaluz will buy three-quarters of the 34GWh annual production of the four-turbine Carrecastro wind farm in Tordesillas and Velilla, Castile and Leon. The deal is Falck’s first long-term PPA in Spain. The company is developing 600MW of wind and solar projects in the country.

Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP) has completed the acquisition of 374MW of wind farm projects in Aragon from developer Forestalia. The Monegros portfolio includes nine wind farms that will have 99 GE turbines. CIP will finance the €350m investment with equity from its CI-III renewables fund. The investor has started construction on the first 113MW phase with contractors Copsa, Elecnor and GES. CIP said the plants will start operating in H1 2020 and will sell power on the wholesale market, suggesting the wind farms might miss the...

Dutch investor DIF and its co-investors Swiss Life and Industriens Pension have sold their portfolio of Spanish infrastructure concessions to Brookfield Asset Management. The assets, reportedly worth about €300m, include stakes in concessions of the Majadahonda hospital in Madrid; the Line 9 section IV metro stations in Barcelona; and three transport hubs in Madrid: Avenida de America, Plaza de Castilla and Principe Pio. DIF bought the assets from ACS in 2014 in its first Spanish PPP deal. Later it increased some of the stakes and refinanced...

Garanti BBVA has provided a US$44m gender loan to finance Polat Enerji’s 48MW Soma 4 wind project in Turkey. This is the bank’s first usage of the loan structure, which is inspired by the gender bonds for female entrepreneurs. The structure is designed to lower cash loan interest and non-cash credit commission during the loan term if project performance improves. The loan is split into an eight-year cash portion of US$21.4m and an 11.5-year non-cash portion of US$22.6m. Garanti will reduce interest and commission fees based on how it scores...

The City of Bristol is seeking a partner for its City Leap Energy Partnership to provide low carbon energy related investment via a 20-year concession. A briefing day will be held on October 8. The level of investment required by the joint venture is expected to be around £1bn. The private sector partner is expected to provide finance and technical support. The joint venture will be split between Bristol Energy, an energy supplier, and an entity that will hold shares in asset-owning special purpose vehicles (SPV).

The opening of Edinburgh’s £185m Royal Hospital for Children and Young People, procured as a non-profit distributing (NPD) scheme in early 2015, has been put back by another year to autumn 2020 due to a ventilation issue. Scottish health secretary Jeane Freeman said the fault was down to an error in the documentation produced by NHS Lothian at the tender stage in 2012. The additional cost on the project will be borne by the public purse, she said. The department published an independent report from KPMG on the problem today. “The KPMG report...

The EBRD has presented its new investment strategy for Turkey that will guide its work there for the next five years, reaffirming its commitment to the country. From 2019 to 2024, the bank will focus on strengthening the resilience of Turkey’s financial sector, developing the country’s knowledge economy, promoting economic inclusion and gender equality and accelerating the country’s shift to the green economy. EBRD president Suma Chakrabarti said the bank “is not a fair-weather friend” and that it “looks to the long term”. One of its key...

Woodside Energy is interested in selling part of its stake in the Kitimat LNG project. Chief executive Peter Coleman said the company may sell part of its interest because it will be operating Kitimat. The company holds a 50% stake in the project alongside Chevron, which is the expected operator. Chevron and Woodside Energy earlier this year applied to Canada’s National Energy Board (NEB) for a new Kitimat LNG licence that would nearly double the size of the British Columbia project. The companies re-evaluated the originally proposed two-train...

Coro Mining has bought out local family owners of their 49% interest in the Marimaca 1-23 claim, giving it 100% ownership of the segment of the wider Marimaca copper project. The purchase price was US$12m, with US$6m due at signing of a definitive agreement, US$3m within 12 months of the agreement, and US$3m within 24 months of the agreement. In order to fund the purchase, Coro has issued a non-brokered private placement of an aggregate of 145,863,926 common shares in the company at C$0.115 per share representing a 28% premium to the C$0.09...

Chilean president Sebastian Pinera has launched the US$5bn “Chile on Rails” strategy that could see 25 investment projects totaling 1,000km. The aim is to triple passenger numbers in the country to 150m per year by 2027 and to double cargo to 21m tonnes per year. Part of the plan is to end rail operator EPE’s operational deficit. Works include metro links around major cities and regional lines.

The Ministry of Public Works and Communications (MOPC) will launch a tender in 2020 for a public-private partnership to deliver the 140km Route 1 highway project connecting Quiindy to Ytororo, in the Paraguari department. The investment estimate is US$300m. The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) will assist with a technical study and help in the final design phase. The works involve the design, construction, operation, and maintenance of the road for up to 30 years.

Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) has approved a 25-year power purchase agreement (PPA) with 8minute Solar Energy that will be backed by the 400MW Eland solar power and energy storage project in Kern County, California. The contract is priced at US$0.033 per kWh. The project has faced controversy and pushback from union workers after LADWP’s February decision to drop plans to repower three gas-fired plants in favour of investment in new renewables. LADWP previously approved the repowering of the Scattergood, Haynes, and Harbor...

Orsted has picked BNP Paribas, Bank of Taiwan, CTBC Bank and Deutsche to arrange the green bond to finance its 900MW Greater Changhua offshore wind project. BNP Paribas and Bank of Taiwan have been mandated as lead arrangers. The deal will be in local NT$ and be launched towards the end of the year. The compnay has raised a NT$25bn (US$817m) five year revolving credit facility for the projects and is looking to sell 50% of the equity.

* Aims for final investment decision in 2020 * Targeting first LNG production in 2024 MELBOURNE, Sept 11 (Reuters) - Privately owned Western Gas said it has appointed Goldman Sachs to advise on finding a partner for its Equus gas project off Western Australia, as it aims to start producing from the $3.5 billion project in 2024. Western Gas wants to develop the field using a 2 million tonnes a year (mtpa) floating liquefied natural gas (LNG) facility, rather than feeding into larger existing facilities as contemplated by the field’s previous...

Privately owned Western Gas has appointed Goldman Sachs to advise on finding a partner for its Equus gas project off Western Australia, as it aims to start producing from the US$3.5bn project in 2024, Reuters reports. Western Gas wants to develop the field using a 2 million tonnes a year (mtpa) floating liquefied natural gas (LNG) facility, rather than feeding into larger existing facilities as contemplated by the field’s previous owner, Hess Corp.

Neoen Australia is expected to formally announce that it will go ahead with the 1.2GW wind, 600MW solar and up to 900MW of battery storage renewables hub (ReHub) at Burra in South Australia. The first stage is reported by local newspapers to comprise about one third of the capacity, at a cost of around A$1bn (US$687m). The Goyder South ReHub will provide power to the new South Australia/New South Wales transmission interconnection that Transgrid and ElectraNet are proposing to build.

The A$1.41bn (US$960m) funding details of the partial privatisation of Western Australia’s land titles asset Landgate has been revealed with the debt portion split into three, five and seven-year tranches. ANZ and NAB have provided around A$700m of the debt with CIBC, ING and SMBC providing around A$150m. Land Services WA consortium comprising Macquarie Infrastructure and Real Assets (MIRA) and industry superannuation funds Sunsuper and Hesta was the successful bidder. MIRA controls around 55% of the SPV with SunSuper taking 30% and Hesta 15%...

Public sector company Bharat Heavy Electricals (BHEL) has issued a tender for the design and supply of a complete floatation platform for 100MW of grid-connected floating solar project at National Thermal Power Corporation’s site in Telangana’s Ramagundam. The tender also mandates mooring, anchoring, installation, and commissioning of a floating platform on which the project will be constructed. Once commissioned, it is expected to be India’s largest floating solar project. The bid deadline is September 16.

Korean banks, Korea Development Bank and Export–Import Bank of Korea, are believed to be considering the financing requirements of the 2x1GW Jawa 9 and 10 coal-fired power plant (CFPP) that is being developed by Indonesia Power (Indo Raya Tenaga) and Barito Pacific. The sponsors, holding respective 51% and 49% stakes in the project, have appointed Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction of South Korea as the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contractor, hence the Korean interest. Financial adviser is DBS and the legal advisers...

Cosmo Eco Power, the renewable unit of Japan’s third largest oil retailer Cosmo Energy Holding, plans to develop a 1GW offshore wind farm off Ishikari Bay in Hokkaido. The company announced its plans recently with the release of an environment assessment report, according to media reports. It aims to deploy floating wind technology as well as fixed foundation-based technology for the wind farm. It has identified eight zones for the project, which will be in waters that are 50m-200m deep and will stretch between Ishikari and Otaru. The...

Tilt Renewables has reached financial close on the NZ$277m (US$174m) 133MW Waipipi wind farm in South Taranaki. The NZ$241m five-year debt facilities were provided by CBA, Credit Agricole, MUFG and Siemens and the margin is believed to be around 100bp. Tilt provided NZ$37m equity for the project. MUFG was the financial adviser with Anderson Lloyd lead project counsel and NZ financing legal counsel and financing legal counsel Gilbert + Tobin. Herbert Smith Freehills advised the lenders. Genesis Energy has provided a 20-year power purchase...

Winning bidder Charoen Pokphand Group is scheduled to have a meeting on Wednesday with State Railway of Thailand (SRT) to discuss the remaining issues on the 220km high-speed rail project that will link three airports. According to reports, the two sides will discuss SRT’s handing over of land to the winning consortium for the project’s construction. Construction will commence once SRT issues a notice to proceed. “The two sides will sign a contract before the bid winner can proceed with the construction,” SRT’s acting governor Warawut Mala told...

The City of Los Angeles (USA) has shortlisted three teams in the procurement of its civic center public-private partnership. Shortlisted teams include DTLA Civic Partners, comprising Meridiam, Edgemoor Infrastructure and Real Estate, Clark Construction, Skidmore, Owings and Merrill, and ENGIE Services; LAC3 Partners, comprising Macquarie Financial Holdings, JLC Infrastructure Fund I, Hensel Phelps Construction, Morphosis Architects, and Honeywell; and Plenary Collaborative Los Angeles, comprising Plenary Group, Webcor Construction, SmithGroup...

Florida-based communications infrastructure investor Digital Bridge has named Geneviève Maltais-Boisvert as a principal on its investment team. Maltais-Boisvert has nearly 15 years of experience in global infrastructure funds management and investment banking across North America, Europe, Turkey and Australia. She most recently served as director of infrastructure investments at Canadian pension manager PSP Investments. Maltais-Boisvert will focus on sourcing and managing investments for the Digital Colony Partners fund, which is managed by...

A group of 53 companies have registered for Colombia’s upcoming renewable energy auction, split with 26 as marketers and 27 as generators. Among those pitching to build projects include Empresas Publicas de Medellin (EPM), Acciona Energía Global, Atlantico Photovoltaic, Canadian Solar Energy Colombia, Cobra Concesiones, EDF Renovables Colombia, Empresa De Energía Del Pacifico, Enel Green Power Colombia, Green Yellow Energía De Colombia, Jemeiwaa Kai, Solarpack Colombia, and Trina Solar. The auction will take place on October 22. The 15-year...

MPC Capital and the Mico Foundation have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to install a rooftop solar PV facility with a peak capacity of 2MW at The Mico University College. Power generation is expected to start in Q2 2020. MPC Capital will finance and operate the rooftop PV facility and intends to add this investment to the portfolio of the MPC Caribbean Clean Energy Fund. It will be the first energy efficiency project of the Fund. The Mico Foundation will purchase the energy generated by the facility and, in collaboration with The...

PG&E has filed a reorganisation proposal with a California bankruptcy court ahead of a more detailed plan expected by September 29. The company is proposing US$17.9bn in compensation for California’s wildfires, including US$8.4bn for victims, US$8.5bn for insurers, and a US$1bn settlement with local governments. Bondholder and insurer groups have submitted reorganisation plans that may compete with the utility’s plan. PG&E said it plans to honour all existing power purchase agreements (PPAs) as it restructures.

France’s EDF and Canada’s Enbridge have reached financial close on the €2.3bn debt package for their 480MW Saint-Nazaire offshore wind farm, said two people close to the deal. BNP Paribas, MUFG and Societe Generale are providing €1.5bn of term loans, a €100m stand-by facility, a €450m equity bridge loan and smaller revolver and letter of credit facilities. Tenor is close to the 20-year duration of the feed-in tariffs, set at €150 per MWh, and pricing is comparable to offshore wind deals in other European countries, in the low-100bp area, said...