Boralex, Innu community close C$608 million financing for wind farm

By Marisa Wong

Los Angeles, Sept. 8 – Boralex Inc. and its Innu community partners in Parc eolien Apuiat S.E.C. announced the closing of a C$608 million financing for the Apuiat wind farm located on Quebec’s North Shore, according to a press release.

The long-term financing for the 200 megawatt Apuiat wind farm was secured by the Desjardins Group, acting as coordinating lead arranger, bookrunner and agent for the banking syndicate, which also included CaixaBank, DZ Bank AG and Korea Development Bank.

As financial adviser, Selkirk Advisory Group also contributed to the financing.

Specifically, the financing for the Apuiat project comprises

• A C$465.3 million construction loan, to be converted to a term loan with a 25-year term after the start of commercial operation, which is scheduled for the second half of 2024, with an advantageous interest rate; and

• Short-term facilities totaling C$142.7 million, including a bridge loan and a letter-of-credit facility, for the purposes of financing costs incurred during construction that are reimbursable by Hydro-Quebec and issuing various letters of credit.

The bridge loan will reduce the amount of equity attributed to the project in the short term, thereby optimizing the overall capital structure of Boralex and the Innu, according to the press release.

A significant portion of the long-term financing component bears interest at a rate fixed under an interest rate hedging arrangement.

The transaction also features an ESG swap that includes cash back, designed by Desjardins as ESG swap arranger, to cover the debt’s interest rate risk and to reward the achievement of ESG key performance indicators. The amount of the cash back paid to the project is based on the ESG impact of the commitments and the efforts required by the company to achieve them.

Parc eolien Apuiat S.E.C. is a company created by Boralex and its Innu community partners in the Apuiat project to develop and operate the 200 MW wind power project.

Boralex is a Kingsey Falls, Quebec-based independent producer of onshore wind power.

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