Sonnedix targets storage market following €2bn refinancings

Renewable energy developers see significant growth opportunities in the energy storage industry and many are seeking to put together innovative financing deals to fund expansion in the sector. Key objectives include optimising capital structures, lowering the cost of capital, and reducing risk. The latest example of this trend is Sonnedix, which has secured €2 billion through two refinancing transactions in Europe.

While Sonnedix has solar and wind projects in its sights, its known that the desire to deploy storage assets was a key factor in its drive to obtain the financing.

The latest financing follows Sonnedix announcement that it secured €3.25 billion in December last year. The company has more than 4GW of operating capacity in its multi-technology portfolio, spanning solar, storage, and wind.

With the regard to the latest two refinancings, the first was provided by CaixaBank and comprised several non-recourse transactions including project bonds. Valued at €595 million, it refinanced 154MW in Sonnedix’s regulated Spanish portfolio. Meanwhile, the second transaction, worth €1.37 billion along with an ancillary facility, refinanced 1,040MW of existing and new solar PV assets across France, Italy, Poland, Spain and Portugal. The nine commercial lenders supporting the second transaction are: bookrunners and mandated lead arrangers Bank of China, Crédit Agricole CIB, HSBC, ING, Santander CIB, and Société Générale; mandated lead arrangers Intesa SanPaolo, and La Banque Postale; and arranger Kutxabank.

The deals consolidate 12 separate project financings into two to create a “scalable, future-proofed debt platform that will allow the company to enhance its portfolio through strategic additions and hybridisation”, the company said.

Sonnedix’s CEO Axel Thiemann said: “As we scale our multi-technology portfolio, our team continues to find smarter, more flexible ways to structure larger, portfolio-level financings to enable us to invest in new growth opportunities, particularly in storage. By unlocking capital through refinancing, we can accelerate the build-out of clean energy projects, making a bigger impact, faster.”

Sonnedix’s chief financial officer, Miguel García Mascuñá, added: “Today’s refinancings are aimed at optimising our capital structure, lowering cost of capital, and reducing risk. They adopt a similar structure to our largest, most innovative refinancings announced in December 2024, where we secured EUR3.25 billion. It’s particularly encouraging to see continued support from our existing banking partners, alongside new institutions. This reflects growing confidence in not only Sonnedix’s growth strategy, but also in the long-term value of well-structured, utility-scale renewable energy assets.”

On the first transaction, Sonnedix was advised by Watson Farley & Williams as legal counsel and Centrus as hedging adviser. Caixabank was advised by EY as tax and accounting adviser, Gomez-Acebo&Pombo as legal adviser, G-Advisory as technical advisor, and Deloitte as model auditor.

On the second transaction, Sonnedix was advised by Crédit Agricole CIB and Santander CIB as co-financial advisers, A&O Shearman as legal counsel, ING as sole ESG coordinator, HSBC as hedge coordinator, Centrus as hedging adviser, EY as tax and model auditor, bondholders as agent and security agent and Aurora Energy Research as energy market analytics provider. The lenders were advised by White & Case as legal advisor and DNV as technical adviser.