Storage – FRV closes the financing of its battery portfolio in the United Kingdom

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Fotowatio Renewable Ventures has completed the simultaneous financial close of the Contego and Clay Tye battery energy storage (BESS) projects, located in West Sussex and Essex (both in the UK) respectively. The operation was carried out with Natixis CIB UK under the project finance modality (reaching 61 million pounds), representing the financing of the debt, as a whole, more than 60% of the cost of the projects. As part of the financing package, FRV has also closed two debt service reserve lines (one for each project) and a VAT line. The transaction represents an important milestone for FRV, since these two projects are the largest ‘project finance’ executed in two highly commercial battery projects (c.90%) in Europe to date.

Rated at 99 megawatts (MW), Clay Tye has a capacity of 198 MWh, using 52 Tesla Megapack lithium-ion batteries. Contego, for its part, uses 28 Tesla Megapack batteries and has a power of 34 MW and a capacity of 68 MWh. In total, FRV already has more than 5 GW of battery storage projects under development in the UK. For its part and in accordance with FRV’s corporate Green Financing Framework, which includes green bonds, project financing, green loans and any other financial tool applicable to projects, assets or groups of assets, project financing developed by FRV is qualify as a Green Loan according to the Green Loan Principles developed by the Loan Market Association, according to FRV.

David Menendez Managing Director of FRV UK: “The financial close of these projects adds another milestone to our growth objective in the UK storage market, reinforcing the sustainability of the business model in the long term and our leadership position in the market. FRV also has other assets in the UK market which are currently in different stages of implementation”

Pascal Soldaini, Managing Director and Head of the Infrastructure & Energy Finance de Natixis CIB UK: “One of the focuses of Natixis CIB’s strategy is to finance the energy transition and increase our issuance of Green Loans, while supporting our main clients. BESS are a requirement to be able to achieve the UK’s decarbonisation targets, as which will enable a greater penetration of renewables in the UK energy mix, while partially addressing structural imbalances in the UK grid.This transaction is an example of innovative financing structured by Natixis aligned with the BESS business model and is another illustration of our close collaboration with FRV, an international leader in sustainable energy production as well as a successful BESS manager, we are very interested in supporting this growing BESS sector, with an initial focus on the UK, Australia, US and Europe”

Fady Jameel, Deputy Chairman and Vice Chairman of Abdul Latif Jameel: “Achieving this financial close marks a new milestone in our commitment to develop the UK’s renewable energy sector and support the country’s ambitious goal of reaching net zero emissions by 2050. This significant achievement cements our position as a respected partner who is leading the transformation around the world, as we make remarkable progress in expanding our portfolio of BESS projects in the UK and globally”

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