Brookfield Renewable Energy last Friday issued that C$450m, 17 year, BBB bond for its 166 MW Comber Wind farm in Essex County, Ontario that we foreshadowed recently. The bond was, according to Brookfield, Canada's "first broadly marketed and rated wind bond".
The wind farm began operating in 2011 and has a 20-year Power Purchase Agreement with the Ontario Power Authority. Interest rate is 5.13%. The bonds were rated by DBRS; bookrunner was Scotia Capital, part of Scotia Bank.
The bond was oversubscribed; in the end there were 25 lucky investors. Brookfield's CFO said the bond: "attracted many institutions new to the sector."
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The Kenya Electricity Generating Company (KenGen) has announced plans to issue a 20 year, Sh30 billion (US$345m) bond to finance geothermal power production. KenGen is 70% owned by the Kenyan Government (Moody's B2, Fitch/S&P B+), with the remainder listed on the Nairobi Stock Exchange. The bond is aimed at a domestic audience.
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The US Government Accountability Office has added climate change to list of “high-risk” threats to nation's fiscal health. They've even issued a nifty video explaining their decision with a presenter that looks like the accountant from central casting.
Is there any chance this could be a trigger for institutional investors to look more substantively at climate change risks? Let me know what you think.
