US-based Recurrent Energy has secured a credit facility of €1.3bn ($1.41bn) to accelerate the development of its renewable energy portfolio in Europe.
The multi-currency revolving credit facility will be available for an initial period of three years from 2024, with options for extension.
The facility, initially sized at €674m, has the potential to be upsized to €1.3bn.
It will be directed towards the development and construction of solar and battery energy storage systems (BESS) projects across European countries, including Spain, Italy, the UK, the Netherlands and France.
The financing will initially support the construction of 1GW of solar capacity, with the majority located in Spain and the remainder in the UK.
Recurrent Energy, a subsidiary of Canadian Solar, has a strong project development pipeline including 26GW of solar and 56 gigawatt hours of BESS globally.
The agreement for the latest financing was facilitated by Santander CIB, serving as the global co-ordinator and sole book-runner, and ING as the sole issuing bank and sole sustainability coordinator.
Additional financial partners participating in the debt facility include ABN AMRO, BBVA, Banco Sabadell, Rabobank and HSBC.
Recurrent Energy CEO Ismael Guerrero stated: “This agreement solidifies Recurrent Energy’s growth strategy and our transformation into one of the world’s leading independent renewable energy producers and developers.
“We thank all our financial partners for their support and trust in our company. Together, we are delivering clean, reliable and affordable power to the world, today and tomorrow.”
In early 2024 Recurrent Energy received a $500m investment commitment from BlackRock's climate infrastructure fund.
This preferred equity investment, which is convertible into common equity, represents a 20% stake in Recurrent Energy, with Canadian Solar retaining the majority share.
The investment from BlackRock enables Recurrent Energy to expand its project development pipeline, especially in the US and Europe, and to transition from solely developing projects to also owning and operating them for the long term.