Riverstone Credit Opportunities Income (RCOI) has made a new four-year US$150m sustainability-linked first lien term loan to NASDAQ listed Clean Energy Fuels Corp (CLNE) (cleanenergyfuels.com), which produces natural gas from animal waste and landfill containing organic matter.
The floating rate loan has a maturity of 22 December 2026 with an all-in yield to maturity of around 12 percent for Riverstone Credit Opportunities on a fully drawn basis. CLNE obtained a second party opinion from Sustainable Fitch that considered the transaction to be aligned with the five pillars of the Loan Syndications and Trading Association’s Sustainability-Linked Loan Principles.
At close on 22 December 2022, Riverstone Credit OpportunitiesI committed US$13.9m and, with this investment, RCOI remains nearly fully invested, with its revolving credit facility utilised and the portfolio almost exclusively comprised of green loans and sustainability-linked loans.
Riverstone Credit Opportunities says that the loan provides CLNE with additional growth capital to execute its renewable natural gas (RNG) growth strategy as demand for RNG fuel rapidly rises. CLNE’s growth strategy includes the development of negative carbon intensity RNG projects and construction of new RNG fuelling stations for the North American transportation sector.
Proceeds from the term loan will be used, in part, to help fund CLNE’s rapid expansion of RNG projects at dairies, which capture fugitive methane and turn it into a fuel made entirely from organic waste and reduces carbon emissions by an average of 300% versus diesel. Demand for the green fuel continues to grow as customers like Republic Services, WM, UPS, LA Metro and New York City MTA continue to expand their RNG fleets.
