Macquarie closes €43 million debt investment in Spanish concentrated solar power plant sponsored by Q-Energy

Macquarie Asset Management has closed a €43 million debt investment in a concentrated solar power plant in Spain owned by Q-Energy.  

The 50 MW capacity parabolic trough solar plant is located in the southern Spanish region of Andalusia. Operational since 2012, the solar plant produces enough clean electricity each year to power the equivalent of more than 34,000 homes and avoid 45,000 tonnes of carbon emissions.

The bespoke, long-dated, debt financing provided by Macquarie’s Green Energy Debt Fund and other managed funds was negotiated on a bilateral basis with the solar plant’s owner Q-Energy, a leading asset manager in Europe’s renewable energy sector. The investment has been made by funds managed by Macquarie Asset Management on behalf of institutional investors and builds on previous financing agreements with Q-Energy, including a €90 million debt investment in a 120 MW portfolio of concentrated solar power plant announced in June.

Tom van Rijsewijk, Managing Director, Macquarie Asset Management, said; “Patient institutional capital can play a key role in accelerating the energy transition by providing a stable source of long-term debt financing for the development and operation of green energy projects. Accessing such financing will be key for countries like Spain, which must scale its investment in the sector quickly in order to achieve its goal of installing a further 60 GW of local renewable generation capacity by the end of this decade.

“Our commitment to supporting this low-carbon transition is matched by Q-Energy. We are pleased to be able to work with them again on this investment, deepening a long-term partnership between our firms.”

Daniel Parejo, Partner and Chief Investment Officer, Q-Energy, said; “We would like to thank Macquarie for its continued support, helping us to access deep global capital pools to enable our ongoing investments in Europe’s green energy sector. Macquarie’s deep understanding of sustainable infrastructure and the low carbon transition make it an ideal partner for us as we seek to support the build-out of green generation capacity in the region.”

Since 2012, Macquarie Asset Management’s Private Credit team has invested approximately €2.7 billion across more than 39 renewable energy projects, with a total installed capacity of approximately 15.1 GW.

About Q-Energy  

Since 2007, Q-Energy's team of more than 170 professionals has invested more than €8,500 million in the renewable energy sector worldwide. Q-Energy's investments have been channelled through four investment vehicles: Fotowatio / FRV, Vela Energy, Q-Energy III and Q-Energy IV.

Q-Energy provides a comprehensive investment and asset management service, applying exhaustive monitoring and control processes, as well as modern technological systems. In this way, Q-Energy manages its assets in real time and achieves significant financial and operational efficiencies.

Currently, the Q-Energy team manages more than 1.2 GW of solar photovoltaic, 240 MW of solar thermoelectric (CSP) and 300 MW of wind in Spain, Germany and Italy.