US Developer Hecate Energy gets US$550 million Credit Facility

• Hecate Energy developers of wind, solar and energy storage projects in the US claim to have a combined 3.6GW under contract and a development pipeline of over 35GW.
• Hecate Energy said the letter of credit would enable it to generate annual project sales of 5GW or more.

Hecate Energy developers of wind, solar and energy storage projects in the US claim to have a combined 3.6GW under contract and a development pipeline of over 35GW. The company has secured a US$550 million credit facility with a five-year term, led by Investec and Nomura Securities International. At the same time, the National Bank of Canada and Deutsche Bank were also involved as arrangers and syndicators.

Also, Investec and Nomura Group participated in the recent raise of US$320 million corporate credit facilities for Canada-headquartered energy storage developer Aypa Power, which is in the portfolio of investment manager Blackstone. Hecate Energy said the borrowing would be collateralised by its 35GW+ pipeline. At the same time, it will also be collateralised by the company’s continued minority equity interest in Hecate Grid, the independent power producer (IPP) formed as a joint venture (JV) between Hecate and investor InfraRed Capital Partners.

Hecate Energy said the letter of credit would enable it to generate annual project sales of 5GW or more as it will unlock the ability to execute various interconnection agreements and power purchase agreements (PPAs). The developer described its credit facility as “innovative” and said it was brokered without credit support due to its collateralisation. In Hecate’s case, the credit facility comprises a US$250 million term loan and a US$300 million letter of credit (LC).