Bluefield Solar Income Fund acquires 93-MWp solar, wind portfolio in UK

Bluefield Solar Income Fund Ltd. has acquired a 93.2-MWp solar and wind portfolio from a U.K.-based fund manager for a total equity consideration of £112.4 million.

The portfolio assets are in the U.K. and consist of 15 solar farms with a total capacity of 64.9 MWp and four wind farms with a total capacity of 28.3 MWp, according to a May 11 filing with the London Stock Exchange. Of the 15 solar farms, five are accredited under the feed-in-tariff regime and 10 are accredited under the renewable obligation certificate, or ROC, regime with tariffs of 1.2 ROCs to 1.6 ROCs. All four wind farms are under the ROC regime with tariffs of 0.9 ROCs to 1.0 ROCs.

The fund initially financed the transaction with a new £100 million revolving credit facility, provided by RBSi and Santander UK. The facility was extended to May 2024 and has a new accordion tranche of up to another £100 million.

"This, the company's largest portfolio acquisition to date, not only marks our third purchase of operational wind assets within 12 months but also adds a very attractively sized portfolio of highly regulated solar assets with a substantial proportion of inflation-linked revenues to the company's significant existing portfolio," Bluefield Solar Chairman John Rennocks said in the filing.

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