HgCapital closes three renewable energy deals

HgCapital’s dedicated renewable energy fund, HgCapital Renewable Power Partners, has closed three new investments: two Spanish solar PV projects and one UK onshore wind project.

The total debt and equity value of HgCapital’s new investments is approximately €300m. Both the Naturener  solar project (Spain) and the Scout Moor (UK) project benefited from existing project finance.

In the UK, HgCapital acquired a 50% interest in Scout Moor, a 65MW operating wind farm near Manchester developed by Peel Energy, part of the Peel Group. Meanwhile, in Spain, the firm acquired an operating 12MW solar PV  in the Castilla La Mancha region developed by Naturener SA and an 8MW construction project in the Murcia region, developed by GA Solar and expected to be operational in April 2010.

HgCapital’s renewable portfolio now includes 19 projects in construction or operation with 325MW of capacity and a large development pipeline.These deals elevate the gross capital value of the fund to over €1bn and caps 2009 as its most active year since closing in December 2006.