Emerald Energy Venture, a joint venture of National Grid, secured a $150 million portfolio revolving facility with an accordion feature that will allow an increase to $250 million beginning in mid-2022 to support the growth of its renewable energy portfolio in the U.S. The new financing will support part of the construction of a mix of solar, battery storage and wind projects being developed by National Grid Renewables, National Grid’s renewable energy arm.
SMBC structured this portfolio revolving facility and will act as a lead arranger, bookrunner, green loan coordinator and collateral and administrative agent.
The facility will bundle several renewable energy projects together to provide economies of scale and operational efficiencies. It was structured under National Grid’s green financing framework.
“Adding more renewable energy to the grid is just one of the many ways in which National Grid is supporting the transition towards a cleaner energy landscape,” Alexandra Lewis, group treasurer of National Grid, said. “This new green facility will help accelerate the work National Grid Renewables is doing in the renewable energy space in the U.S., which not only generates significant environmental benefits but also drives economic activity and creates green jobs in communities across America.”
“Sustainability-linked business and green energy in particular has and continues to be the cornerstone of our business globally as we strive to support our clients in promoting and creating positive social, economic and environmental change,” Carl Adams, executive officer and deputy head of SMBC’s Americas division, said, “We are proud to have partnered with National Grid on the successful origination of this unique transaction, which embodies what we want to achieve in the market.”
National Grid Renewables develops, owns and operates renewable energy projects across the U.S., including solar, wind and battery storage. This facility is expected to help fund part of the construction of an estimated 1.05 gigawatts (GW) of clean energy generation capacity, enough to avoid more than 1.6 million metric tons of carbon dioxide annually, according to the Environmental Protection Agency’s greenhouse gas equivalencies calculator.
Morgan, Lewis & Bockius advised Emerald Energy Venture and Winston & Strawn advised SMBC on this transaction.
