Crédit Agricole CIB has facilitated New Green Power’s (NGP) capital raise through financing for fishery-solar assets in Taiwan.
NGP, a BlackRock infrastructure business, has decided to diversify its technology mix and double its portfolio capacity with fishery-solar assets.
Crédit Agricole said in a news release that following the successful financing of 82 megawatts (MW) of solar portfolio that comprised primarily ground-mounted assets in 2022, NGP subsequently raised over $143 million in incremental debt to develop and add six fishery-solar assets to its portfolio.
Crédit Agricole added that a $31 million loan is being used for a 12.5 MW project currently being built in Kaohsiung.
Overall, the fishery-solar assets will expand NGP’s portfolio from 82 MW to 161 MW.
In Taiwan, due to limited land availability, the government encourages fishery-solar projects, it noted. These projects creatively use land by combining fishing activities with clean energy generation. This initiative supports Taiwan's domestic industry and clean energy targets, it said.
Taiwan plans to achieve 20 gigawatts (GW) of solar capacity by 2025, with 4.4 GW from fishery-solar projects.
“NGP's fishery-solar projects involve placing ground-mounted solar photovoltaic systems above outdoor fish farms”, Crédit Agricole said. “This innovative approach maximizes land utilization and helps Taiwan accelerate and achieve its energy transition ambitions."
“Supporting experienced sponsors such as BlackRock and New Green Power in financing a fishery-solar project in Taiwan required our extensive global industry expertise in the field of renewable energy being put at play locally, while providing invaluable support to fish farmers. This represents an auspicious match of our new role as global financiers of energy transition with our longstanding commitment to support the agricultural industries”, said Benjamin Lamberg, Senior Country Officer for Japan (CEO of the Taipei branch at the time of the deal).
