Renewable Energy Finance: Atmos Renewables secures $850mn portfolio refinancing facility to consolidate existing portfolio debt in Australia

The green loan was supported by a syndicate of nine major domestic and international lenders including DBS, HSBC, MUFG, and RBC. The transaction, which marks one of the largest project-level financings for operating assets in Australia, consolidates the existing asset-level debt across a large part of Atmos’ contracted, 1.6 GW solar and wind portfolio. RBC acted as financial advisor on the transaction, with DNV as the technical advisor and Baringa as a market advisor. The move will help Atmos progress on its strategy to develop, build and operate utility-scale renewable energy and storage assets across Australia.

Established in 2020, Atmos is fully owned by funds managed by Igneo Infrastructure Partners. As of February 2023, Atmos owns or has a stake in 14 operating solar and wind assets in Australia. The company is led by Nigel Baker, a former executive at Australian renewables companies Pacific Hydro and Tilt Renewables. Pacific Hydro was acquired by China's State Power Investment Corp (SPIC) in 2015, in a deal reportedly valued at $3bn, including debt, while Tilt was taken over by New Zealand-based power company Mercury NZ and Australian infrastructure investment firm Powering Australian Renewables (PowaAR) for $2.1bn in 2021. 

Atmos’ flagship investment is an equity stake in the 420 MW McArthur wind farm in southwestern Australia, which came online in 2013 and was reportedly one of the largest wind farms at the time. Estimated to cost $1bn, the project was backed by a $372mn loan from Danish export credit agency EKF. 

The above analysis is proprietary to Enerdatics’ energy analytics team, based on the current understanding of the available data. The information is subject to change and should not be taken to constitute professional advice or a recommendation.