On July 9, 2020, ATB Financial, as administrative agent; ATB Financial, Fiera Infrastructure Private Debt Fund LP and TELUS Pensions Liability Hedging Master Trust, as Lenders; and Claresholm Solar LP, which is a partnership between Capstone infrastructure Corporation and Danish renewable energy investment group Obton A/S, entered into a credit agreement providing for the $130 million financing for the construction of 132-megawatt Claresholm solar project located in the Municipal District of Willow Creek, Alberta.
Capstone Infrastructure Corporation is an independent power producer focused on providing clean, renewable energy to homes and businesses across North America.
The project is a partnership between Canadian clean energy investor Capstone Infrastructure Corporation, which has 51 per cent ownership interest, and Danish renewable energy investment group Obton A/S, which has 49 per cent ownership interest. Seventy-four megawatts of electricity from the project will be supplied to TransCanada Energy Ltd. pursuant to a power purchase agreement.
Once completed, Claresholm Solar will be one of the largest projects of its kind in Canada, will assist Alberta in its efforts to move off coal and will reduce the carbon footprint of the province. Claresholm Solar received Proximo Infra’s North America Solar Deal of the Year for 2020.
The debt financing included both contracted and merchant revenue from the project, which is unusual for projects of this nature that generally require guaranteed cash flow for a majority of the power generated.
McCarthy Tétrault LLP advised ATB Financial with a team led by
Joseph Palin,
and which included
Audrey Bouffard-Nesbitt,
Alison Walker,
Cristina Arantes,
Kerri Howard,
Jamie Gibb,
Elizabeth Rafferty.