New Delhi: Credit Agricole CIB completed the first two syndicated Green loan transactions in the U.S., leading a total of US$419m in financing backing two U.S. renewable energy developers' clean energy projects, the French bank said.sPower, the largest private owner of operating solar assets in the U.S., has raised a US$175m Green revolving credit facility to support its solar, wind and storage activities. Credit Agricole was the Green loan advisor, underwriting the deal with Wells Fargo, Citi, KeyBank and Societe Generale.
Terra-Gen, a U.S. renewable energy company, has issued a US$244m Green term loan to fund the construction of wind farms in California and Texas. Credit Agricole was the Green loan agent, leading the deal with KeyBank, Commonwealth Bank of Australia and US Bank.
"Credit Agricole is looking to support customers moving toward higher energy and carbon performance, increasing their presence in renewables and financing projects and services useful for the environment," said Lucie Campos Caresmel, director of loan syndications of Credit Agricole.
Credit Agricole has committed to 100bn in green financing by 2020, extending its previous pledge of 60bn announced in 2015.
The Green loan market in the U.S. has been significantly lagging Europe where the Green loan volume was 19bn in March alone.
The advanced green lending market in Europe aligns with the strong political agenda and the financial markets voluntary efforts, Caresmel said.
"The European Commission has recently announced a series of initiatives for a modern and clean economy and appears committed to putting in place the necessary reforms to give the incentives to the financial sector to contribute to the green transition," Caresmel said.
To encourage issuance in the U.S., the Loan Syndications and Trading Association (LSTA) started to develop a standard industry framework for Green loans, previously reported.