Standard & Poor gives top rating to Ecoener Green Bond

09 | 10 | 2020

Standard & Poor gives top rating to Ecoener Green Bond

  • The bond has obtained the highest rating for a green bond: E1
  • This rating is based on the governance, transparency and mitigation of the transaction
  • Econener issued a €130 million Green Bond, listed in Frankfurt

Ecoener Group has issued a senior secured Green Bond of €130 million with a coupon of 2.35% and with a maturity in December 2040. This bond is intended to finance hydroelectric projects and wind farms located in the Spanish region of Galicia and the Canary Islands. The projects have a wide geographical and technological diversification that allows the portfolio to be protected against possible localised climate risks.

The Green Bond has received an E1 green rating. This is the highest rating given by the rating agency S&P for this type of bond.

This rating is based on the average of the scores received by the transaction in the 3 areas assessed: Governance, Transparency and Mitigation. Similarly, the favourable rating of this green bond is directly related to the type of technology that will be financed with the funds obtained, as S&P believes that this technology facilitates the systemic decarbonisation of the economy.

The high marks for transparency and the excellent governance rating are linked to the solid financing structure of the project. This structure provides both fund management arrangements that prevent the diversion of funds to non-bond projects and regular reporting on the use of these funds and on the operations and maintenance of the assets.

The excellent mitigation rating is based on the favourable impact that the investment of the funds linked to this bond has on the environment, the location and long life cycle of the assets included in the transaction and the types of technology used in the projects.

Luis de Valdivia, CEO of Ecoener commented

“We are very proud that our green bond has received an E1 rating from S&P. This rating not only demonstrates Ecoener’s commitment to sustainability and excellence, but also strengthens our position as a quality player in the international financial market. This result also gives our world-class institutional investors the certainty of having chosen a high quality company"