Norton Rose Fulbright advises the lenders on the financing of France's largest onshore wind project

Global law firm Norton Rose Fulbright has advised the lenders and hedge banks on the financing of the 122MW Sud Marne wind project on behalf of Hexagon Renewable Energy SA. Hexagon Renewable Energy SA is an independent power producer managed by TTR Energy, a developer, operator and investor in renewable energy for the past 13 years. The Sud Marne project, consisting of 30 4MW and 4.2MW turbines supplied by Vestas, will be the largest onshore wind project in France (122MW).

The firm assisted the arrangers, BPCE Energeco, Caisse d'Épargne et de Prévoyance Grand Est Europe and La Banque Postale, in the financing of the project through a structured senior non-recourse debt and VAT financing facility, as well as interest rate hedging provided by Natixis and La Banque Postale. Volta Avocats carried out the legal audit of the project (regulatory aspects and project contracts) for the financial parties.

This financing is the first closing of a greenfield project for Hexagon Renewable Energy. The electricity production of the Sud Marne project is equivalent to the annual consumption of 151,200 households and will avoid the production of 118,000 tCO2 per year. The energy production is planned to start in January 2023.

The Norton Rose Fulbright Paris-based team was led by Energy partner Arnaud Bélisaire, assisted by counsel Véronique Bruel on the financing aspects, counsel Amandine Delsaux on the regulatory and project aspects, senior associate Marie Zelazko, associate Pierrick Ferrero, and paralegal Ambre Ouint-Vanlaer.