Engenera Renewables' CEO Bryan Glendinning. Image: Engenera.
Engenera Renewables is lauding the benefits of its green bond programme for solar PV as it announces it already has local authorities on board.
The £100 million bond programme first launched in 2019, with the first series of bonds - which are listed on Euronext Dublin and the Frankfurt Stock Exchange and pay 7.00% interest - issued in November that year. The initial series offers investors a 5-year senior secured asset-backed bond, with local authority pension funds already signed up as investors and “several more” in due diligence.
The proceeds from these will allow Engenera to install a range of renewables, with a focus on solar PV and renewable heat, meaning the company can install rooftop solar for free for its clients, who then enter into a power purchase agreement (PPA). These PPAs are to last 20-25 years, after which the ownership of the equipment is to be transferred to the customer.
The company in particular lauded the benefits for a local authority, with the money invested to install solar in the local authority's area itself. Furthermore, they can designate public buildings such as libraries, leisure centres and council buildings for installation or stipulate that the scheme is offered to private businesses instead.
Following the full £100 million being issued and successfully deployed, Engenera is expecting the portfolio to contain as many as 400 PPAs diversified by size, demographics and sectors.
However, as the bond programme establishes itself Engenera plans to establish several portfolios, each of which is dedicated to a specific sector. This would then allow the company to sell each portfolio on to a long-term investor.
“It is our belief that every business in the UK, large or small, will have to embrace some form of renewable technology within the next five to seven years. Not all companies or organisations have the capital or want the responsibility of such systems – this is where companies like Engenera can help," Lloyd Lawson, business development director of Engenera Renewables Group, said.
Solar Power Portal caught up with Lawson earlier this year to discuss the programme in more detail.