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SSEN Transmission-£1bn Facility backed by the NWF
SSEN Transmission, a subsidiary of SSE plc, has secured a £1 billion, 12-year bank facility, supported by an £800 million financial guarantee from the UK Government's National Wealth Fund. This green loan will fund four significant grid upgrade projects in northern Scotland, including the Skye Reinforcement, Argyll and Kintyre 275kV Strategy, Orkney Connection, and Eastern Green Link 2, which collectively represent the largest single investment in the UK transmission system. The financing aims to enhance grid capacity, improve resilience, and connect renewable power sources, aligning with the UK and Scottish governments' clean power and energy security targets. Disclaimer*
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[{"type":"text","content":"\n\nSSE PLC\nSSEN Transmission signs £1bn Bank Facility backed by the National Wealth Fund \nSSEN Transmission, 75% owned by the electricity infrastructure company SSE plc, today announces a £1bn,12-year bank facility backed by an £800m financial guarantee from the UK Government's National Wealth Fund which will support four major grid upgrade projects under way in the north of Scotland.\n \nThis new bank facility has been syndicated to a group of SSEN Transmission's relationship banks, led by Bank of America, and including BBVA, HSBC, JP Morgan, Lloyds, MUFG, NatWest and Santander.\n \nThe financing announced today is ringfenced as a Green Loan to support four SSEN Transmission projects which will upgrade grid capacity, improve local resilience and connect power from the places of generation to areas of demand throughout the GB grid. The projects are SSEN Transmission's Skye Reinforcement, Argyll and Kintyre 275kV Strategy, and the Orkney Connection as well as the jointly developed venture Eastern Green Link 2 ('EGL2').\n \nThese projects will see Orkney connected to the transmission grid for the first time, as well as significantly strengthening the transmission infrastructure serving communities including Skye, Fort Augustus, Argyll and Kintyre.\n \nEGL2 HVDC subsea project is the largest ever single investment in the UK transmission system and will play a critical role in delivering the UK and Scottish governments' clean power and energy security targets - supporting thousands of jobs across the country and boosting local and national economies.\n \nThe National Wealth Fund's supported financing offers longer-dated lending, better aligning with the life of grid assets and ensuring the swift progression of these four critical upgrade projects, which have been independently assessed as required by both the independent National Energy System Operator (NESO) and the energy regulator, Ofgem.\n \nBarry O'Regan, SSE's Chief Financial Officer, said:\n\"This new Bank Facility supported by the National Wealth Fund financial guarantee provides an excellent source of funding diversification, and with a three-year availability window helping to manage liquidity for SSEN Transmission.\nIt demonstrates the importance of grid upgrades both in achieving the country's clean power and energy security goals, ...