EnBW Energie Baden-Wuerttemberg AG (ETR:EBK) has raised EUR 500 million (USD 570.4m) in an oversubscribed green bond sale, its first placement of such financial instruments, the German utility said on Wednesday.
Proceeds from the transaction will be used to support wind and solar power and electric mobility projects. The company’s decision for the placement is based on its strategy to focus its business towards renewable energies and smart infrastructure solutions and is also part of its sustainability efforts.
“The fact that the bond was several times oversubscribed shows that issuing it as a green bond supports our strategy. That has also been rewarded by the capital market,” said chief financial officer Thomas Kusterer.
The bonds were issued by EnBW International Finance BV, a unit of EnBW, and are guaranteed by the utility. Maturing in 2023, they bear an annual coupon of 1.875%. The financial instruments have been certified as a “green bond” by the Climate Bonds Initiative (CBI). The offering was underwritten by Spanish bank BBVA (BME:BBVA), DZ Bank, LBBW and Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS), while Societe Generale (EPA:GLE) and SEB (EPA:SK) acted as structuring agents.
EnBW currently operates 336 MW of offshore wind capacity in Germany, including the country’s first commercial offshore wind farm — the 48.3-MW Baltic 1 — and the 288-MW Baltic 2.
Source Renewables Now