Canadian developer Boralex has closed financing for four wind farms under construction in France for a total amount of €106m.
The financing will be invested in the 20MW Basse Thierache Nord, the 10MW Catesis, the 24MW Seuil du Cambresis, plus the 35MW Cham Longe which is undergoing repowering to increase its capacity from 18MW.
The projects will be commissioned in 2019 and 2020.
Lenders including Credit Industriel et Commercial, Auxifip, Caisse Regionale de Credit Agricole Mutuel Nord de France, CM-CIC Infra Debt Fund and BPI France Financement provided the financing, based on a debt/equity ratio of 80/20.
The loan comprises four variable-rate tranches amortised over terms ranging from 15-20 years for a total amount of €106m. Given the forward rate agreement and current drawdowns, the average rate is approximately 2.29%.
In addition to the long-term tranches totalling €106m, the financing also includes short-term tranches for a total amount of €17.8m to meet temporary funding requirements related to French value-added tax.
The financing also includes a debt service reserve facility for a potential total amount of €5.3m.