Octopus Investments completes $227mn refinancing for biomass and landfill gas

Octopus Investments has completed a refinancing round worth $226.7mn (£174mn) for its 172MW biomass and landfill gas portfolio in the UK.

The portfolio, called the Melton Renewable Energy UK Portfolio, was acquired by Octopus in 2015 and include five biomass sites as well as 22 landfill gas sites, which produce a mix of gases from microorganisms to be used as fuel. In total, Octopus’ total clean energy portfolio is worth $2.6bn.

Funding has come from major UK financial institutions including NatWest, HSBC, Allied Irish Banks (AIB), Investec, Barclays and Banco de Sabadell.

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According to Energy Live News, Octopus’ Head of Energy Investments, Matt Setchell, said: “Following our record breaking solar refinancing last year, once again the Octopus team has delivered another significant transaction with this funding package for the biomass and landfill portfolio that we manage.”

He added, as reported by Utility Week: “As the UK’s largest non-utility investor in onshore renewables, we continue to set the benchmark high for negotiating market leading debt financings with innovative features such as a flexible fuel procurement and usage of short term PPAs (power purchase agreements) to drive value.

“More widely, this is a boost to the UK biomass industry, which plays an essential role in extracting maximum value from the organic waste streams and diversifying our energy mix. The involvement of major blue-chip lenders in the deal further highlights the confidence in the future of biomass in the country.”