(Bloomberg) — Foresight Solar Fund Ltd. bought three solar
parks in the U.K., two days after the government proposed
further cuts to subsidies for the industry.
The London-listed fund acquired 34 megawatts of operational
assets through a venture with Big60Million Ltd., Foresight said
Friday in a statement. The projects in Warwickshire and Kent all
currently receive subsidies through the government’s Renewables
Obligation program. Terms of the deal weren’t disclosed.
The government on July 22 proposed to slash the support it
gives small-scale solar projects a year earlier than planned
after already ending aid for larger solar projects in April.
Last month it announced the same measure for onshore wind. The
cuts are meant to help keep a lid on public spending and reduce
costs to consumers, it said at the time.
Foresight said it also secured an extension of its
acquisition debt facility with Banco Santander SA and Royal Bank
of Scotland Group Plc, from 120 million pounds ($186 million) to
150 million pounds, that will enable it to exploit an
“attractive” pipeline of projects.
To contact the reporter on this story:
Louise Downing in London at
ldowning4@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story:
Reed Landberg at
landberg@bloomberg.net
Randall Hackley, Dan Weeks