Watson Farley & Williams (“WFW”) has advised the Royal Bank of Scotland Plc (“RBS”) on the construction financing of 16 solar PV plants located in England and Northern Ireland currently under development by sponsor Lightsource Renewable Energy Holdings Limited. RBS provided senior financing for the transaction. AMP capital provided mezzanine financing for the transaction.

WFW advised on all senior finance aspects and due diligence work streams relating to the matter.

The 16 solar PV plants include the floating ROC project located on the Queen Elizabeth II Reservoir in England (the “QEII Project”), and a mixture of 14 ground mounted FIT and ROC projects located in England and Northern Ireland.

The QEII Project is currently the largest floating solar project in the world at 6.3 MW. The Queen Elizabeth II Reservoir is located near Heathrow airport and is owned and operated by Thames Water Utilities Ltd. The electricity generated from the QEII Project will be used by Thames Water to provide renewable energy for the purposes of its water supply and waste water treatment obligations.

The WFW project team was led by London Energy & Infrastructure partner Henry Stewart, assisted by senior associates David McElroy, Charlotte Williams and Iris Wong and associates Alexander Collis, Alice Bushell and James Quaile.

Henry commented: “We are pleased to have assisted RBS, and worked with Lightsource, on the financing, particularly since the QEII Project uses innovative technology and is currently the largest floating solar park in the world”.