Matrix Renewables has closed about $191 million of non-recourse debt from Banco Sabadell to build five solar plants in Spain. It is a single-lender deal for 239 MW spread across two regions. Measured per megawatt it sits almost exactly in the middle of Spain's 2024 solar lending, and the interesting part is how a mid-market loan was built from five small plants with one bank.
Key takeaways
- Matrix Renewables secured about $190.69 million of non-recourse debt from Banco Sabadell, announced on 23 April 2024, for the construction of five solar photovoltaic plants totalling 239 MW in Spain.
- The Matrix Renewables portfolio comprises Arco Solar (46 MW) in Badajoz, Extremadura, and Retama (52 MW), Bombarda (45 MW), Baluarte (44 MW) and Almendro (52 MW) in Castilla y Leon, with commercial operation anticipated by Q1 2025.
- Matrix Renewables' Banco Sabadell loan works out at about $0.80 million of debt per MW, between BRUC's $0.72 million per MW for 842 MW and ib vogt's $0.90 million per MWdc for 418 MWdc in the same year.
- Linklaters advised Matrix Renewables on the Banco Sabadell financing, while Watson Farley & Williams and Altermia advised Banco Sabadell.
- Enerdatics records 14 solar debt financings in Spain announced in 2024, 12 with a disclosed amount, and Matrix Renewables' $190.69 million sits sixth of those 12, close to the median of about $190.2 million.
What is Banco Sabadell financing?
It is financing construction, on a non-recourse basis. Non-recourse debt is repaid from the cash flows of the projects themselves, so lenders cannot reach the sponsor's wider balance sheet if the plants underperform. That puts the weight of the credit decision on the five plants and their revenue.
The plants were in construction when the loan was announced. The money funds their development and construction, and Matrix said the financing aligns with all of its ESG policies. The projects were expected to create about 430 full-time jobs during construction.
The timetable was short. With commercial operation anticipated by the first quarter of 2025, the plants had roughly a year from the April 2024 announcement to reach operation.
All five are mid-sized. The largest are 52 MW and the smallest 44 MW. None is big enough to carry a large loan alone, which is why they were bundled.
How does a portfolio loan change the risk?
Bundling spreads it. A single 50 MW plant depends on one grid connection, one site and one construction schedule. Five plants across two regions dilute each of those. One plant sits in Badajoz in Extremadura and four in Castilla y Leon, so a local delay at one site does not stall the whole loan.
It also makes the loan worth a bank's time. Arranging, documenting and monitoring five separate 45 MW loans would cost more than one combined facility. A single portfolio lets Banco Sabadell lend about $191 million on one set of terms.
The single-lender structure is the less common part. Several Spanish solar loans of similar size in 2024, including Grenergy's, Encavis' and Lightsource bp's, used groups of banks. Matrix's loan from Sabadell alone means the bank kept the whole exposure rather than sharing it.
How does the loan size compare with other Spanish solar debt?
It sits in the middle. Four 2024 Spanish solar debt records in Enerdatics name a capacity alongside the amount, which allows a per MW comparison:
- BRUC: $606.6 million for 842 MW in April 2024, about $0.72 million per MW.
- Alantra and Solarig: $231.79 million for 306 MW in January 2024, about $0.76 million per MW.
- Matrix Renewables: $190.69 million for 239 MW in April 2024, about $0.80 million per MW.
- ib vogt: $375.02 million for 365 MWac / 418 MWdc in February 2024, about $0.90 million per MWdc.
The records mix AC, DC and unspecified megawatts, so the comparison is indicative. Even so, size alone does not set the ratio. BRUC's 842 MW borrows least per MW, but ib vogt's 418 MWdc borrows the most, a result Enerdatics traced to its contracts in a separate post on its Segovia solar debt.
Enerdatics' data shows 14 solar debt financings in Spain announced in 2024. Twelve carry a disclosed amount, totalling about $2,453 million, with a median of about $190.2 million. Matrix's $190.69 million ranks sixth of the 12, almost exactly at that median. BRUC's $606.6 million is the largest and Ellomay Capital's $11.41 million for an operating plant the smallest.
Is this Matrix Renewables' only Spanish loan that year?
No. Enerdatics also records a second Matrix Renewables debt financing in Spain, about $54.73 million from the European Investment Bank announced in August 2024, also described as funding five solar plants in Spain. The record does not say whether those are the same five plants.
Matrix borrows on both sides of the Atlantic. In the United States it closed a $283 million loan for its Pleasant Valley solar project in Idaho in February 2024, paired with a tax credit sale. The Spanish loan has no equivalent tax credit leg, so the debt carries the projects alone.
What does the loan signal for Spanish solar financing?
It signals that mid-sized portfolios can still raise construction debt from a single domestic bank. Banco Sabadell also appears in BRUC's lender group and in Elawan Energy's 171 MW Spanish portfolio loan, which suggests it is a repeat lender to the segment rather than an occasional one. It is also one of three banks behind Cero Generation's loan for a 245 MW solar portfolio in Spain in August 2024, a deal whose amount Enerdatics records as undisclosed.
It also signals that size is only part of the story. At about $0.80 million per MW, Matrix's 239 MW borrowed more per MW than BRUC's 842 MW but less than ib vogt's 418 MWdc, so project and contract terms that the records do not show account for the rest.
What the record does not show is the revenue contract behind the plants. Without it, the reason the loan sized at $0.80 million per MW rather than higher or lower stays open.
Frequently asked questions
How much did Matrix Renewables borrow from Banco Sabadell? About $190.69 million of non-recourse debt, announced on 23 April 2024, for five solar plants totalling 239 MW in Spain.
Which plants does the Matrix Renewables loan cover? Arco (46 MW) in Badajoz and Retama (52 MW), Bombarda (45 MW), Baluarte (44 MW) and Almendro (52 MW) in Castilla y Leon.
How does the loan compare per MW? At about $0.80 million per MW, it sits between BRUC's $0.72 million and ib vogt's $0.90 million per MWdc among 2024 Spanish solar loans with a stated capacity.
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