Компания Island Green Power закрыла финансирование в 315 млн фунтов для перехода в статус производителя электроэнергии

Island Green Power closes £315m debt financing as IPP transition continues The financing package was arranged by Barclays Bank and Tokyo-based financial services group Nomura. UK-based clean energy developer Island Green Power (IGP) has closed a £315 million HoldCo debt financing to support its transition to independent power producer (IPP). The financing package was arranged by Barclays Bank and Tokyo-based financial services group Nomura, acting as joint-lead underwriters and bookrunners. It will enable IGP to refinance existing debt and provide capital to support the growth of the business and enable construction of IGP’s first projects. IGP, which has formerly acted as a pure development business, is behind the West Burton solar plant, the largest solar nationally significant infrastructure project (NSIP) to receive a Contract for Difference (CfD). The company is 100% owned by funds managed by Macquarie Asset Management. Its focus is on large-scale solar NSIPs, and it co-locates many of its solar generation plants with battery energy storage systems (BESS). It has consent for the 480MW West Burton NSIP and the 600MW Cottam Solar Farm, and five NSIPs currently in the planning examination process. The transition from developer to IPP was decided when Macquarie took full ownership of IGP in May last year. The shift to focus on owner-operations away from pure development is a broader trend in the UK market, reflecting a shift in value. In the last couple of years, Elgin Energy and Aura Power have both made the same shift. Focus on NSIPs IGP’s approach, focusing only on projects larger than 100MW (the threshold that qualifies a project as an NSIP), is one that delivers on economies of scale. Despite a more expensive consent process, seeing millions of pounds spent before construction, under the current political regime there has been a 100% approval rate for NSIPs. Secretary of state for energy security and net zero Ed Miliband has granted development consent orders (DCOs) to 29 large-scale renewable energy projects since becoming Energy Secretary in 2024. NSIP projects are approved at the government level, over the heads of local planning authorities, which some see as a drawback. Discussed on a panel at the Clean Power 2030 Summit last week, changing political circumstances mean NSIP approvals and development have become less certain. In the longer-term, the UK faces the possibility of a Reform UK win at the next general election and the turn against renewables that would entail. In the short-term, the reality of a change of leadership in the Labour Party and likely reshuffling of top jobs. Read more about: