THE DEAL COULD UTILITY-SCALE SOLAR FINANCING WITH BONDS BE THE NEW NORMAL?

摘要

In late April, concentrated photovoltaic (CPV) manufacturer and solar project developer Soitec announced that it had finalised a bond that will be used to finance a portion of its 44 MWp CPV plant in Touwsrivier, South Africa. The bond, worth some ZAR1 billion (approximately US$85 million) is the first publicly-listed project development bond ever issued to finance a CPV solar power plant, and only the third bond issued to finance any type of solar installation worldwide. Issuing a bond that will list on the bond market allows institutional investors like pension fund managers or asset managers to invest in it and potentially receive a stable return over a fixed period of time.