UK £12m solar bond / New Mexico solar farm to deliver energy below fossil fuel cost

+  The UK's £4.6bn Lancashire County Pension Fund has invested in a 23.5 year, £12m ($18m) solar bond, issued by a community-owned solar power plant in Oxfordshire. According to I&PE, the bond gives Lancashire a return "3 percentage points above the retail prices index". Westmill Solar Coop's 21,000-panel solar farm can generate 4.5m kWh a year - enough for 1,400 homes. The bond is being used to refinance existing debt. Disclosure: Westmill's Chair Philip Wolfe is a member of the Climate Bonds Advisory Panel.

+  There have been headlines in the past week about the 50MW First Solar Macho Springs Solar facility in New Mexico signing a contract to supply power at a jaw-dropping 5.79c per kWh - below fossil fuel costs. In some markets, such as island economies, the costs of solar have already dropped below fossil fuels - but it was a shock to read about for the US mainland. Renewable Energy World has a good article drilling down into the New Mexico costs story. Lower costs means faster take-up and less policy risk = maybe we'll see some higher rated solar bonds coming through.