Lightsource bp, a British renewables developer, has secured a $1.8 billion credit and trade finance facility to support the expansion of its solar energy portfolio. The company has a target to develop 25 GW of solar projects by 2025. Additionally, the company is also creating a 9 GW portfolio in the US, following its acquisition from the Texas based 7X Energy.
The finance package has been obtained from lenders across France, Spain, the UK, Japan, Canada, and the US. These include French banks, BNP Paribas and Société Générale, the Spanish institution Santander, UK’s NatWest and domestic peer Lloyds, Japanese institutions Mitsubishi UFJ and Sumitomo Mitsui, Canadian financiers Canadian Imperial and Toronto Dominion, and Wells Fargo from the US. The share of contribution for each lender has not been disclosed.
Lightsource bp was founded in 2010. Since then, it has established a solar energy portfolio of over 3.8 GW spanning across the globe. In 2021, the company’s presence across several European markets such as Spain, Italy, and Portugal has significantly increased. Earlier this year, the company also announced its entry into Greece with a major auction win.
REGlobal’s Views: Renewable energy is now increasingly becoming a part of the mainstream development targets of many large investment firms. In the coming years, solar energy is expected to play a key contributor in overall portfolios of such investors.
