The deal involves a non-recourse construction and term facility from Rabobank, a company that is a leading financier of renewable energy projects in North America. The credit facility will support distributed generation projects throughout Ontario and represents a milestone for the solar industry as one of the largest finance deals executed in respect of local community cooperatives and First Nations to date in Canada.
The portfolio incorporates a diverse portfolio of solar assets of different sizes, investment structures and in various stages of completion. It consists of projects covered by the Ontario Power Authority’s feed-in tariff programme developed by Nautilus Solar Energy through its Canadian subsidiary, Nautilus Solar Energy Canada Inc, in a co-development partnership with Moose Power Inc. The community investment partners include Green Energy Co-operative of Ontario Inc (GECO) and Eagle Lake First nation.
Equity funding will be provided by North Sky CleanTech Alliance Fund and NewWorld Environmental Infrastructure.
“One impediment to solar financing is the difficulty of securing funding for a group of heterogeneous assets” said Jim Rice, Nautilus co-founder and CEO. “The deal Nautilus has secured with Rabobank and with community partners, GECO and Eagle Lake First Nation, demonstrates that complex transactions can be done, setting the stage for more such financings in the future.”
Thomas Emmons, head of project finance Americas for Rabobank, added that Nautilus is an experienced solar developer with expertise in complex projects. Mr Emmons said that his company is looking forward to working with Nautilus again in the future.
As well as arranging the transaction, Nautilus will provide physical and financial asset management for the projects.
Everett Smith, managing partner of GoldenSet Capital Partners, said that Ontario’s feed-in tariff programme has been a strong stimulus to solar and is serving as a model for other governmental entities throughout North America. Rabobank’s commitment will support the acquisition of additional solar projects with community and first nations participation.
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