EnValue and MSE Solar in cooperation with the commercial bank NORD/LB (Norddeutsche Landesbank – Girozentrale) have successfully closed the financing for the construction of six solar projects located in the municipalities of Manzano and Remanzacco, in the province of Udine, region of Friuli-Venezia-Giulia with a total capacity of 48 MWp. The projects are at different stages of construction and the portfolio is envisaged to reach commercial operation by the end of 2023.

 

The projects are held by Parco Solare Friulano 3 s.r.l. and Parco Solare Friulano 4 s.r.l., project vehicles indirectly held by the sponsors MSE Solar GmbH and EnValue GmbH, who were also responsible for the project development and are in charge of construction. The financing was executed on a "Multi-Borrower" project financing basis, divided into various facilities, amounting to EUR 41 million. Part of the long-term debt was made available by KFW (Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau) through NORD/LB.

 

The transaction represents an important precedent in this sector a as it combines the sale of a portion of the energy under the incentive scheme provided by Gestore dei Servizi Energetici - GSE S.p.A. with the sale of another portion without any incentives, thus introducing a "merchant" risk component.

 

The Sponsors and Borrowers were advised by Arcus Financial Advisors, by the law firms Parola Angelini and Bird & Bird, and by the tax advisor Bernoni Grant Thornton.

 

Arcus Financial Advisors, acted with a team led by the CEO Stefano Cassella, by the Senior Partner Federico Mander and the Director Stefania Gatti, in the structuring, negotiation and finalization of the financing.

 

Parola Angelini assisted the sponsors during the development phase of the projects with a team composed of the Of Counsel Andrea Leonforte with the assistance of Silvia Pellegrino and Antonio Fuiano, in relation to all relevant administrative and regulatory matters concerning the obtainment of the authorisation and the access to the incentive schemes, and the Senior Associate Andrea Coluzzi in relation to project contracts.

 

Bird & Bird worked with an international and multidisciplinary team led by counsel Michele Arruzzolo and coordinated by partner Pierpaolo Mastromarini, Head of Energy & Utilities sector in Italy, with the support of the associate Vincenzo Maria Giorgio. Partner Alexander Wojtek together with the associate Gregor Jentsch followed German law aspects.

 

Bernoni Grant Thornton analyzed the tax aspects of the projects and the financing with a team composed by the Senior Manager Marco Pane and the consultants Maria Teresa Vetro and Livia Bartolomeo, under the supervision of the Partner Christian Siccardi and the Associate Partner Diego Pagliai.

NORD/LB was assisted by the DLA Piper as legal advisor, EOS Consulting as technical advisor and Euro Transaction Solutions as insurance advisor.

 

DLA Piper provided assistance for the drafting of the finance documents with a team coordinated by the partners Giovanni Ragnoni Bosco Lucarelli and comprising, for German law assistance, the partner Wolfram Distler and the senior associate Gabriela von Wietersheim, and for Italian law assistance, the associates Francesco Chericoni and Alessandra Fanelli. The due diligence on the projects was carried out by the partner Germana Cassar and the legal director Alessia Marconi. Tax assistance was provided by partner Andrea Di Dio.

 

EOS worked in the technical review of the projects with a multidisciplinary team composed by the Partner Alessandro Chiusolo, the Team Managers Giulio Matarazzo and Roberto Alessandrini, and the Technical Specialist Eleonora Olivieri and Gianluigi Nicita.

 

Euro Transaction Solutions analyzed the insurance aspects of the projects and the financing with a team composed of Managing Director Thomas Elleser and Project Manager Stephanie Fackelmeyer.

 

Fred Garside, Managing Director at MSE Solar GmbH, said "we are very pleased to have closed our first financing with NORD/LB. We greatly appreciate their flexibility during the structuring of the financing, which allows us to remain flexible in terms of energy marketing, providing a huge advantage in times of volatile electricity prices. We are dedicated to playing our part in the energy transition and on the path to climate neutrality and these projects mark an important milestone for us as a company and for the whole Italian energy sector. A special thanks to everyone who worked alongside us on these projects and to our long-time partner EnValue!"

 

Josef Niederländer, Managing Director at EnValue GmbH, said "we are also proud to have achieved a leading position in Italy together with our partner MSE Solar. Many thanks to all parties involved and to NORD/LB. Especially in view of the increasingly dramatic developments in climate change, we would like to thank all those who are working to counter what is probably the greatest problem of our time."

 

“Financing sustainable projects of this kind is of great importance to NORD/LB. We have financed over 500 MW in Italy over the past 8 years, and this transaction only strengthens our market position in Italy. We had a fantastic cooperation with a highly competent MSE Solar and Envalue team, and this allowed us to create a tailormade and innovative financing solution, thus building a solid foundation for further projects. This transaction underlines NORD/LB's role as one of the leading European banks in the renewable energy sector", said Heiko Ludwig, Global Head Structured Finance at NORD/LB.