Canada’s largest-ever solar project has just floated the country’s biggest-ever green bond issue, landing C$613 million from institutional investors for a joint venture by Samsung Renewable Energy Inc. and the Six Nations of the Grand River Development Corporation.
“About US$27.8 billion in green bonds have been issued globally this year, compared with $35.7 billion in all of 2015,” Bloomberg New Energy Finance reports. “Indeed, green bonds may grow exponentially in the next few years into a $1-trillion conduit for global climate investments after 2020, according to Citigroup Inc. banker Michael Eckhart.”
Solar investments typically offer 20 years of guaranteed returns, thanks to long-term power purchase agreements that can make them “extremely attractive” for investors, FBR Capital Markets analyst Carter Driscoll told BNEF. “People are desperate for yield,” he said. Overall, green bonds “will grow very rapidly once the market framework matures,” Eckhart said.
