NeXtWind, a leading renewable energy company, has secured €1.4 billion in debt financing. The agreement also includes an additional €1.3 billion in so-called accordion facilities, which can be activated in tranches over the coming years.
This syndicated loan is the largest of its kind for an independent wind energy provider in Germany, and it opens the onshore wind market to debt investments from major financial institutions both domestically and internationally. NeXtWind will use the new financing to modernize more than half of its wind farms, increasing their generation capacity to over 1 GW by 2028. Subsequently, the company plans to further develop these wind farms into sustainable energy infrastructure hubs.
“This financing is a significant milestone for NeXtWind and testament to the confidence in our business model,” explains Lars B. Meyer, Co-CEO of NeXtWind. “Thanks to this novel platform approach, we can optimize our wind farms more quickly and accelerate our growth. In the long term, we aim to transform them into state-of-the-art, integrated hubs that can generate, store and distribute energy from various renewable sources in a grid-friendly manner at the right time – all in one place.”
A pioneer in renewable energy
Since its founding in 2020, NeXtWind has established itself as a leading independent player in the renewable energy sector. The company acquires and optimizes existing wind farms by installing new turbines alongside state-of-the-art technology (‘repowering’). NeXtWind’s repowering capacity currently stands at approximately 1.4 GW, with an expected completion date set for 2026. This enables around one million households to be supplied with green electricity every year.
In the medium term, NeXtWind is pursuing an ambitious growth strategy. By 2028, it aims to increase the generation capacity to 3 GW. This will be achieved through a combination of wind farms included in the financing and newly built projects ('greenfield'), among others.
Innovative financing model on an unprecedented scale
This successful debt financing is an important step towards advancing the energy transition. The concept is based on a financing model for onshore wind projects that is unique in Germany to date. Rather than financing individual wind farms separately, existing and future projects are bundled into an innovative platform, leveraging portfolio efficiencies. Once repowering is complete, individual wind farms can be offered as attractive long-term green investment opportunities to a broader range of investors through capital market instruments.
The €1.4 billion loan package consists of five core components tailored to the various financial requirements of repowering, including a term loan for acquisitions and investments as well as flexible guarantee lines. This innovative financing approach opens up institutional debt capital on a new scale and creates the basis for scalable financing of infrastructure solutions in the renewable energy sector.
Lazard structured the financing and accompanied the entire process as exclusive financial advisor to NeXtWind. Deutsche Bank, ING Bank and LBBW act as underwriters, mandated lead arrangers and bookrunners on the transaction. Deutsche Bank also serves as Global Coordinator, while ING Bank further supports as Green Loan Coordinator, Facility and Security Agent. Renowned insurance companies have also joined the transaction upon closing of the loan agreement to provide part of the guarantee line.
Further information on NeXtWind can be found here.
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Image title: NeXtWind_Background information on platform financing
About NeXtWind:
NeXtWind is a leading renewable energy provider with offices in Berlin and London. Since its founding in 2020, the company has focused on acquiring and optimizing existing wind farms ('repowering'). It currently operates 37 onshore wind farms with a total capacity of 450 MW and has a total repowering capacity of around 1.4 GW. The company aims to increase its total generation capacity to 3 GW by 2028.
In the long term, NeXtWind seeks to build up a sustainable energy infrastructure ('Cleanfrastructure') in Europe. To this end, NeXtWind plans to develop integrated clean energy hubs. With a strong financial backing totaling USD 750 million (investors include Sandbrook Capital, PSP Investments and IMCO), NeXtWind is poised to be a key partner in advancing Germany's energy transition.
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