Watson Farley & Williams (“WFW”) advised French independent renewable energy producer ZE Energy on the €84m financing of the project “Vert” in the southwest of France, its first hybrid “solar + storage” project with a capacity of 77 MW for the solar assets and 5 MW for the batteries (+ 10 MW increase in battery capacity envisaged), as well as on the drafting and negotiation of a Corporate PPA with Orange France and the project contracts.
This renewable electricity purchase contract, signed for a period of 15 years, covers a volume of 90 GWh/year produced by a new hybrid solar power plant currently under construction on a 60-hectare site, which will be connected to the French Enedis grid in early 2025.
Of the total financing, €52m came from senior debt secured with the banks Bpifrance and Caisse d’Epargne Ile-de France. The remainder of the financing was provided by ZE Energy in the form of equity.
ZE Energy develops, finances, builds and operates hybrid power plants combining both photovoltaics and storage specifically designed for use in continental Europe. They aim to have 700+ MW of solar power and 350+ MWh of battery capacity operational across France, Italy and Germany by 2025.
As the largest shareholder in Groupe BPCE, Caisse d’Epargne Ile-de-France market participants across all sectors in the Ile-de-France region including businesses, local authorities, social housing associations, institutional investors, high net worth individuals and professional associations.
Bpifrance is a French public bank supporting companies on their energy transition via the financing of innovative projects. In 2023, it invested €22bn+ internationally, guaranteed €8.6bn+ loans to over 63,000 companies and granted €9.4bn+ to innovative projects.
The multidisciplinary WFW Paris team advising ZE Energy was led by Finance Partner Laurence Martinez Bellet, supported by Associates Julie Michelangeli and Chloé Moriceau. Partner Laurent Battoue and Associates Juliana Brandao Marques and Amandine Collard advised on regulatory and project law, while Counsel Hélène Ibos and Associates Marie Dubois and Maximilian Cristescu assisted on tax matters.
