Fourth fundraise secured by Elgin Energy
Independent international solar developer Elgin Energy has secured a fourth fundraise for £4.7 million. The fundraise was closed in January 2020. Funding was obtained from Irish investors and will provide capital to complete late stage development of 250 megawatts (MW) of UK solar projects.
This was the second successful fundraise completed in partnership with Cantor Fitzgerald Ireland. The first fundraise was closed in June 2019 and raised £4.3 million. Both fundraises will be used to finance late stage development of Elgin Energy’s UK pipeline. A further fundraise is proposed later this year.
Jack O’Keeffe, Senior Director, and Alan Wall, Associate Director, in Cantor Fitzgerald Ireland Corporate Finance worked closely with Dermot Kelleher, Finance Director and Ronan Kilduff, Managing Director in Elgin Energy to secure and close the fundraise.
The UK solar market has matured since the support scheme ended and capital costs continue to reduce. Total installed costs of utility-scale solar PV in the UK have declined by almost 80% from 2010 – 2018 and this downward trend is projected to continue.
“This is the second fundraise we have managed with Elgin Energy. The first fundraise was oversubscribed and due to demand from investors we pursued a second fundraise. Over the past year we have seen a major increase in demand for investment in green funds and demonstration of Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) commitments.” commented Jack O’ Keeffe Senior Director, Cantor Fitzgerald Ireland Corporate Finance.
Elgin Energy has delivered 21 projects (230MW) across the UK & Northern Ireland to date. These projects were delivered under the government operated Renewables Obligation (RO) scheme. When that scheme ended in 2016, many developers left the UK market. Elgin Energy remained and continued to develop projects and have now amassed one of the largest qualified late stage pipelines in the UK.
“Over the past twelve months, we have seen further advances in the UK solar industry and a marked increase in appetite from investment funds to acquire solar assets. With one of the largest late stage pipelines in the UK, we are well placed to address this growing demand. Solar PV is the key scalable technology that can facilitate rapid decarbonization of homes, businesses and industry through the 2020s. The future is bright, the future is solar.” commented Ronan Kilduff, Managing Director, Elgin Energy
Elgin Energy forecasts that solar electricity will become cost-competitive in the UK wholesale electricity market from late 2020 onwards and expect installation of their projects to begin in line with this.
