Canadian Solar announced completion of its second green project bond placement with Goldman Sachs Japan.
The JPY7.4 billion ($66.0 million) dual-tenor green project bond was issued to finance Canadian Solar’s 27.3 MWp Tottori Solar Power Plant in Tottori Prefecture, Japan.
The Tottori solar power plant achieved commercial operations in August 2017, and the electricity generated is currently being purchased by the Chugoku Electric Power Company, Inc. under a 20-year feed-in-tariff contract at the rate of JPY40.0 ($0.36) per kWh.
The Tottori green project bond consists of a dual-tenor maturity of 1.5 years and 18.3 years, representing the initial and extended tenor respectively, within a single-tranche of the bond.
This dual-tenor structure makes full repayment of the bond flexible, while enabling a potential sale of the solar power plant to Canadian Solar Infrastructure Fund, recently listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange.
The Japan Credit Rating Agency (JCR) assigned the Tottori project an investment grade rating of “A”, making it the fourth project by Canadian Solar in Japan to receive such a rating and in line with the highest ratings reported in the Japan PV sector.
Dr. Shawn Qu, chairman and chief executive officer of Canadian Solar, said, “Investors recognize our strong record of building high quality and bankable solar power projects. This project will contribute to the growth of Canadian Solar Infrastructure Fund as a leading renewable energy fund in Japan. We will continue to look for opportunities to promote renewable energy platform in this market.”