$64m 24 yr solar bond private placement with UK Pensions Insurance Corp

The £6 bn Pension Insurance Corporation (PIC) has bought up as a private placement the first ever UK publicly-listed solar bond, a £40m ($64m), 24 year bond linked to two 5 MW solar plants in Somerset owned by Solar Power Generation. Private placement may be ubiquitous in the US, but it's not so common in the UK - so full marks to deal arranger Independent Debt Capital Markets.

PIC, a specialist provider of insurance solutions for defined benefit pension funds said the bond will "provide a good match for PIC's pension liabilities, with a highly predictable, inflation-linked cashflow from a regulated entity".

Hmmm, is that the sound of a thousand solar developers scrambling to issue bonds?

But Pension Corp didn't stop their honeyed words there - their Asset Manager Mark Gull added: "Infrastructure investment will become increasingly important for the holders of long term capital, such as insurers and pension funds, as they seek yield over and above that available on gilts, in a low risk structure. We will certainly look at other opportunities as they arise."

I know that's long-winded for most of us, but to a solar developer that's pure music to the ears.

(BTW solar folks, to stand out from the investor-jostling crowd have a look at the benefits of Climate Bonds Certification.)