Boralexa Canadian renewable energy developer, and its Innu community partners at Parc éolien Apuiat SEC (Innu). secured US$608 million (CAD$827.3 million) in funding for the 200 MW Apuiat wind farm on Quebec’s north coast.
The long-term financing of the wind farm was provided by Desjardins group, who served as coordinating lead arranger. Other financial institutions included Caixa Bank, DZ bank AG and the Korea Development Bank.
The financing includes a $465.3 million construction loan. The conversion into a term loan with a term of 25 years will take place after the wind farm is commissioned in the second half of next year.
A short-term loan of $142.7 million is also provided. These include a bridging loan and a letter of credit to finance certain costs incurred during construction.
The bridge loan is expected to reduce the amount of equity allocated to the project in the short term, thereby optimizing the developers’ capital structure.
The interest for a significant part of the long-term financing is determined within the framework of an interest rate hedging agreement.
Desjardins has developed an environmental, social and governance (ESG) swap that includes cashback that covers the interest rate risk of the debt and rewards the achievement of key ESG performance indicators.
The amount of cashback paid depends on the company’s ESG impact commitments and efforts to achieve them.
Bruno Guilmette, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Boralex, said: “The financing announced today demonstrates the strength of our company and is a testament to the quality of the Apuiat project.” I am very proud of the work the teams have done of Boralex, with the support of our Innu and financial partners, in implementing this innovative financing, which allows Boralex greater financial flexibility.
“The construction of the Apuiat project marks the beginning of a period of strong growth for wind energy in Quebec, to which Boralex aims to make a strong contribution by leveraging its extensive experience as a developer and operator of energy assets.”
The 200 MW Apuiat wind farm is powered by 34 turbines. Construction of the project is expected to begin this winter and commissioning is scheduled for next December.
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