Watson Farley & Williams (WFW) has advised Bayerische Landesbank (BayernLB) on a project financing granted to RP Global for the construction of a 49.5 MWp solar park in Harbke, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany.

This is RP Global’s first project in Germany. It is being built by, inter alios, EPC contractor, MaxSolar, and is supported by a scheme under the German Renewable Energy Act (EEG) for the full installed capacity. The solar park is being built on the site of a former opencast lignite mine, contributing to the conversion of fossil fuel infrastructure for renewable energy.

The WFW Germany Energy team that advised BayernLB was led by Project Finance Partner, Thomas Hollenhorst, supported by Managing Associates, Jakob Paluszkiewicz and Roman Schneider, and Associate, Stefan Riedmeyer. Corporate advice was provided by Hamburg Partner, Carolin Woggon, and Senior Associate, Dr Sarah Sophie Jacob. Regulatory advice was provided by Hamburg Partner, Dr Christine Bader, and Associate, Wiebke Westermann. Counsel, Manuel Rustler, advised on tax matters of the transaction, whilst Counsel, Tatjana Giutronich, and Associate, Katja Westermann, provided real estate expertise.

Hollenhorst commented: “This project is a striking example of how former mining sites can be repurposed as part of the energy transition. Financing such a project requires not only economic viability but, above all, a deep understanding of the legal and regulatory framework governing large scale renewable energy projects.”