CMS advises lenders to Green Investment Group on a landmark portfolio financing of Nordic onshore wind projects

International law firm CMS has advised a large club of international commercial banks in relation to the project financing facilities for a 170 MW portfolio of onshore wind farms in Sweden and Norway owned by Macquarie’s Green Investment Group (GIG). 

Using an innovative portfolio financing structure, GIG was able to reduce financing costs and enable the project teams to prioritise local content and delivering competitively priced green energy to a major regional employer.

The portfolio consists of:

• 80 MW Buheii onshore wind project in Kvinesdal, southern Norway;
• 43 MW Hornamossen onshore wind project in located in the Jönköping municipality, Sweden; and
• 47 MW Tysvaer onshore wind project in the Tysvaer municipality, within Rogaland Fylke, southern Norway.

The Buheii and Tysvaer projects will supply Eramet Norway’s Norwegian smelters with predictably priced power through 17/18 year power purchase agreements, backed by a guarantee issued under the Power Purchase Guarantee Scheme administered by The Norwegian Export Credit Guarantee Agency (GIEK).

The turbine supplier to the Tysvaer and Hornamossen projects is Siemens Gamesa. The turbine supplier to the Buheii project is Vestas.

Nicholas Ross-McCall, CMS Energy Finance partner, comments: “We are delighted to have acted for the lender group on another market leading, Nordic focused, energy finance transaction developed and structured by GIG. The transaction involved a bespoke portfolio financing structure and PPA/revenue arrangements. It was particularly challenging closing this multi-jurisdictional transaction efficiently in two phases during the COVID-19 related lock-down. This transaction demonstrates once again CMS London’s capability to deliver complex high value renewable project financings across Europe.”

The CMS team was led by Energy Finance partner Nicholas Ross-McCall, supported by Senior Associate Will Fenn and Associates Laurie Carrette and Jianxiong Chen. On project matters, the team was supported by Energy partner Philip Duffield, Senior Associate Dalia Majumder-Russell and Associate Tom Ballard. The lenders were also advised on Swedish law elements by Cirio (Jesper Johansson) and on Norwegian law elements by Simonsen (Halvor Klingenberg).

Further details on the deal can be found here.