Tamar Energy refinances £32m of anaerobic digestion plants
Tamar Energy has secured a landmark £32 million (US$48.8 million) non-recourse project finance facility for its 5 anaerobic digestion (AD) plants located in United Kingdom.
The Royal Bank of Scotland plc (RBS) is providing the seven-year term facility which will refinance Tamar Energy’s existing five AD plants. The new financing facility will be used to build the next wave of AD plants from Tamar Energy’s development pipeline.
Tamar Energy currently has five AD plants with a combined capacity of 11 MW, generating baseload green energy from the processing of food, vegetable and agricultural organic waste. They are located in Basingstoke, Hampshire; Holbeach, Lincolnshire; Retford, Nottinghamshire; Halstead, Essex and Hoddesdon, Hertfordshire. It also secured permission for a sixth plant at Bromley in Greater London in October 2014.
Pinsent Mason LLP acted as legal advisors for RBS and Watson Farley & Williams LLP acted as legal advisors for Tamar Energy.
Tamar Energy recently signed a power purchase agreement (PPA) with EDF Energy for its first five AD plants. The Basingstoke and Holbeach AD facilities started on the PPA terms in December 2014 and the other plants will follow in 2015.
Dean Hislop, Finance Director, Tamar Energy, said:
”The RBS facility is a significant achievement for us, not only for being the first of its kind in the AD sector but also for its scale. It’s a sign of confidence in Tamar Energy’s business model from a leading UK bank and enables us to drive our business forward at pace.”
Willie Heller, Chief Executive of Tamar Energy, added:
“This is a springboard to our next phase of growth, and demonstrates the increasing maturity of the commercial-scale AD sector. It provides us with the resources and flexibility to consider all opportunities for growth as we continue to build out our project pipeline.”
Sue Milton, Director, RBS, said:
“This is a landmark transaction and RBS is delighted to have worked with Tamar Energy's management team to provide the initial funding to support the company's growth ambitions.”
Energy and Climate Change Minister Amber Rudd said:
"With AD developers now being recognised as worthwhile investments in their own right without the need for additional assets to raise financing, this is an exciting moment for the industry. Already AD deployment has soared by over 200% since 2010 and I look forward to the continued growth of the AD sector as a source of clean energy as well as investment and jobs."
