The Marguerite Fund has acquired a state on EDF Energies Nouvelles' 115MW Toul-Rosières solar project, the largest photovoltaic (PV) installation in Europe.
Located in a former air base, the site covers a total area of 522 hectares it is situated near the city of Nancy, in north-east France.
The Marguerite Fund secured financing for the construction of its 36MW under a loan facility arranged by BNP Paribas and Crédit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank.
This is the second transaction in the Marguerite Fund, which was set up in 2010 to invest in greenfield and expansion projects.
Nicolás Merigó, CEO of Marguerite Adviser, said, 'We are delighted to complete this second transaction with EDF Energies Nouvelles. Renewables is one of our core sectors and we consider that this project is a unique opportunity to invest in a utility scale solar PV plant in France. The transaction was closed with non-recourse project finance debt raised with commercial banks in a difficult market.'
David Corchia, CEO of EDF Energies Nouvelles, added, 'The French regulatory framework requires us to bring strategic investors into large solar farms, such as Toul-Rosières. We are happy to have brought in a long term investor such as Marguerite. They have a strong focus on renewables, understand our business, and are solid professionals.'