Bluefield Solar Income Fund acquires two solar plants in the UK from juwi

Bluefield Solar Income Fund Limited has entered into binding contracts to acquire two large-scale solar plants to be constructed in south west England from Juwi.

The acquisitions are the eleventh and twelfth made by the company in the past twelve months. The two assets comprise an 8.5 MW plant in Devon and a 6 MW plant in Somerset.

They are being acquired for a total consideration of £15 million including transaction costs, debt costs and working capital. They are expected to qualify under the 1.4 Renewable Obligation Certificate (ROC) regime.

The contracts have been signed with Juwi AG, the German renewable energy contractor. Its UK subsidiary, Juwi Renewable Energies, will build the plant. It will also undertake the ongoing operation and maintenance of the plant under a separate agreement. The Company has agreed strong contractual protections during the construction phase and post commissioning.

Since its Initial Public Offering (IPO) in July 2013, Bluefield Solar Income Fund has invested into twelve, wholly owned, solar plants with a combined energy capacity of c. 143 MW. These two new acquisitions, along with the acquisition of the Hertfordshire based plant announced on 18 June, 2014, are using part of the £50 million revolving credit facility provided by the Royal Bank of Scotland. The remaining nine assets in the portfolio were acquired using the IPO proceeds and subsequent placement; they are now grid connected and operational. As expected, Betingau in Glamorgan was grid connected under the 1.6 ROC banding and Sheppey, in Kent, under the 1.4 ROC banding.