Latest Analysis
One year in… one quarter up
Social & Defence EuropeHaving penned the Editor’s Letter for the next issue of the IJGlobal Magazine (out next week, online only), it left this aging infra hack pondering how long it had been since the last Friday missive… never mind how long we’ve been in lockdown and the UK out of Europe
Georgia Power sustainability bond, US
Power North AmericaGeorgia Power brought another new ESG labeled security to the US utility sector in February when it issued its first sustainability bond – which is similar to a green bond but with an expanded list of eligible projects that include social initiatives
Long-haul recovery for aviation
Transport EuropeOne year on from the grounding of flights in Europe and the US, one of the hardest hit corners of the infrastructure world is still reeling from the pandemic, though the industry is hoping for the vaccine ramp-up to lead to the start of a recovery later this year
Satria Satellite PPP, Indonesia
Telecoms Asia PacificIndonesia's first multi-functional satellite PPP – the $550 million Satria satellite – achieved financial close last month, 3 years after Indonesia's Ministry of Communication and Information Technology launched the project tender
California State University, Fresno utility P3
Social & Defence North AmericaThe US higher education sector is in the midst of a prolonged crisis which predates Covid-19 with many institutions under a great deal of financial distress. While we may not see a significant increase in greenfield energy projects involving entirely new campuses or energy systems, there will be some... like the Central Utility Plant Replacement P3 project at CSU Fresno
Baltic district heating finds a private equity owner
Renewables EuropePartners Group is acquiring a district heating platform in the Baltics, in the latest of a string of exits by Finnish utility Fortum
Gás Natural Açu, Brazil
Oil & Gas Latin AmericaPort of Açu located in the municipality of São João da Barra, in the North of Rio de Janeiro state is on its way to becoming a grandiose industrial complex serving the oil & gas industry
The UK student housing market – alive and kicking
Social & Defence EuropeThe UK student housing market appears to be alive and well after recent deals by Dutch pensions group APG and real estate developer Greystar, while the European market is beginning to heat up
Glenfarne portfolio, Latin America
Renewables Latin AmericaBefore 2020 came to a close, New York-based developer Glenfarne Group was able to refinance its roughly 1.5GW Latin American generation portfolio with a mix of bank debt and bonds, following a path opened up by other sponsors in the region who had refinanced their assets earlier in the year
New England Solar Farm – NSW, Australia
Renewables Asia PacificThe first large-scale fully-merchant solar farm to reach financial close in Australia made it over the line in early February, providing a pathfinder for similar deals
Lighthouse Renewable, US
Renewables North AmericaWhile yield companies have sometimes been known to bring in third-party equity providers to co-own renewable energy assets, when Clearway Energy Group recently offloaded a 1.6GW portfolio of wind,solar and solar-plus storage assets to its yieldco Clearway Energy, the third-party investor opted for an unusual capital structure, swapping out common equity for less risky preferred equity instead
Baltica 2 and 3 offshore wind farms, Poland
Renewables EuropePoland’s drive to bring their offshore wind efforts up to speed with their western European neighbours has been a valiant effort
Nur Navoi Solar, Uzbekistan
Renewables Asia PacificA milestone in Uzbekistan’s power-sector reform programme was the financial close in December 2020 of Masdar’s 100MW Nur Navoi’s solar power project. Once Masdar found its footing after the market volatility’s zenith in Q1 2020, the Mubadala Investment subsidiary moved decisively towards closing Uzbekistan’s first IPP solar project
Asper scales up with co-investment strategy
Renewables EuropeIn the face of a challenging fundraising environment and sky-high valuations, independent London-based investment manager Asper has attracted large investors with its own co-investment model
Next stop: Peru
Oil & Gas Latin AmericaAware of the importance of infrastructure to economic growth, and of the role of the government in driving the industry, Peruvian leaders have started to think strategically and to make that clear to investors
Alarm over energy counter-reform in Mexico
Renewables Latin AmericaAs Mexico's President Andres Manuel López Obrador lays out his vision of a counter-reform of his country’s energy industry, private investors in power and renewables are pondering whether to leave – assuming they are able to find an exit