Global law firm Norton Rose Fulbright - acting as US federal securities, New York, English and UAE law legal counsel - has advised the underwriters, led by Citi, HSBC and MUFG, in connection with the issuance by Sweihan PV Power Company of the first long-term green bond.
The bonds, which are worth $700,800,000 were issued under New York law and offered pursuant to R144A and Reg S, and will be admitted to trading in Dublin, and included in the list of Euronext ESG Bonds. The 3.625% senior secured amortizing green bonds are due 2049.
The Issuer Sweihan PV Power owns and operates the fully operational Noor Abu Dhabi solar PV power generation plant located in Sweihan, Abu Dhabi, with a contracted power capacity of 881 MW (AC), which generates revenues pursuant to a power purchase agreement with EWEC. The Issuer is indirectly owned by project sponsors – Taqa, Marubeni and JinkoSolar, and the issuance represents one of the first forays into green financing by Taqa.
The Noor Abu Dhabi project is one of fourteen Ewec power and water projects, and the project has been identified as a key strategic asset for the Government of Abu Dhabi as it implements its Energy Strategy 2050 to increase the share of renewables in the energy supply mix.
The net proceeds of the bonds will be allocated in accordance with the Issuer’s Green Bond Framework, which is aligned with ICMA’s Green Bond Principles 2021 and the ‘solar energy’ standard of the Climate Bonds Initiative, and includes the refinancing in full of the Issuer’s existing bank debt term facilities and the unwind of certain related swap arrangements.
As a rare green financing of a green (solar) project asset in the Middle East, investor interest for the bonds included high-quality accounts from ESG-focused local, regional and international investors.
