Advised by Watson Farley & Williams (“WFW”), UK anaerobic digestion (AD) plant development company Tamar Energy has secured £32 million in financing for its portfolio of five AD plants. According to Tamar Energy’s chief executive officer Willie Heller, the deal is the first senior non-recourse debt financing for an industrial scale AD facility in the UK.

Tamar Energy’s portfolio of AD plants is comprised of five facilities; the 1.5MW Holbeach facility in Lincolnshire, 1.5MW Farleigh plant in Hampshire, 2MW Halstead plant in Essex, 3MW Retford plant in Nottinghamshire and 3MW Hoddesdon plant in Hertfordshire. It recently signed power purchase agreement with EDF Energy for power produced by the five AD plants.

The seven-year term finance facility, provided by Royal Bank of Scotland plc will refinance the existing five plants and be used to finance the next wave of AD plants in Tamar Energy’s development pipeline.

Anaerobic digestion is the process by which organic waste material is converted into energy. The food, vegetable and agricultural organic waste, known as ‘feedstock’, is broken down by micro-organisms and converted into biogas (a mixture of carbon dioxide and methane) which is used in combined heat and power plants or cleansed of carbon dioxide and injected into the National Grid. In addition, a by-product of the AD process is digestate, which is a nutrient-rich substance commonly used as a renewable fertiliser or soil conditioner.

The WFW London team that advised Tamar Energy was led by finance partner Mark Lawson. He, along with senior associate David McElroy and associate Gareth Lond advised on the finance documentation. Partner Mark Tooke and associate David Teare advised on corporate matters, senior associate Joe Hesketh on the power purchase agreements, associate Freddie Phillips on the operation and management contracts, and partner and Head of Planning and Project Development Gareth Phillips advised Tamar on planning matters.

Partner Mark Lawson, said: “Determination, persistence and resilience were key attributes of the Tamar Energy group led by Finance Director Dean Hislop that achieved financial close. WFW were delighted to be part of this effort.”