NTR completes €370M refinance of 200MW wind portfolio

NTR has successfully completed a portfolio refinancing of €370 million of a 220 MW onshore wind portfolio for its NTR Wind 1 LP fund.

NTR created the fund to build and operate onshore wind projects with lucrative long-term funding from REFIT (Ireland) and ROC (UK).

With all projects in the fund now in operation from earlier this year, NTR took the opportunity to replace the current individual project funding packages with a highly affordable and versatile refinancing portfolio.

Five lenders–AIB, LBBW, NatWest / Ulster Bank, Santander and Siemens Financial Services through Siemens Bank –are lead arrangers in the contract comprising €350 million and €20 million of revolving credit and debt-service fund facilities in euro and sterling term loan facilities.

“NTR is delighted with the outcome of this refinance where we achieved all of our objectives regarding terms and flexibility, notwithstanding the COVID-19 uncertainties. This is reflective of the quality of the assets across the whole portfolio, underpinned by NTR’s market leading operational expertise.”

Anthony Doherty, NTR’s Group corporate finance director.

The portfolio of 12 onshore wind farms with a capacity of 220 MW is located in Ireland and the UK. Between 2014 and earlier this year NTR built and put the projects into operation. The portfolio is expected to reduce about 125,000 tons of CO2 emissions per year and fuel more than 130,000 homes with clean energy.

“NTR is delighted to welcome a number of Europe’s leading lenders as our banking partners, while at the same time expanding our relationship with some of our existing partners through this refinance.  The renewable energy sector has performed well as an infrastructure asset class through the COVID pandemic and this refinance demonstrates there is continued strong appetite for quality assets. Our fleet of wind and solar assets under management across Europe continues to grow with projects located in over 40 locations across Ireland, the UK, France, Sweden and Finland.”

Rosheen McGuckian, CEO NTR