HSBC Backs Hive’s £60 Million Overseas Solar Expansion

• Hive Energy secures £60m from HSBC to turbocharge global utility-scale solar, expand pipeline and acquisitions, and power growth beyond the UK amid soaring clean energy demand.

British renewables developer Hive Energy secured a £60 million financing package from HSBC to accelerate development of large-scale solar projects and support international expansion. The facility will fund project pipeline growth, including late-stage assets, as the company targets markets beyond the UK.

The funding, equivalent to about $79 million (€67.9 million), underscores lenders’ appetite for utility-scale clean energy as power demand and decarbonization targets rise. Hive plans to deploy the capital across origination, construction and potential acquisitions in priority overseas geographies, aiming to scale capacity and diversify revenue while strengthening its balance sheet for subsequent project-level financing and future growth.

How will Hive Energy leverage HSBC’s £60m to scale its global solar pipeline?

• Fast-track late-stage projects to notice-to-proceed by funding interconnection deposits, land leases/options, environmental studies, and final engineering
  
• Expand the pipeline via selective acquisitions and co-development deals in priority overseas markets to complement greenfield origination
• Build in-country teams and JV partnerships to accelerate permitting, community engagement, and grid negotiations
  
• Lock in equipment supply and pricing through framework agreements and hedging for modules, inverters, and trackers to mitigate volatility
  
• Advance hybridization with battery storage to boost grid friendliness, capture peak pricing, and improve bankability
  
• Standardize project design and contracting to shorten development timelines and reduce soft costs across multiple jurisdictions
  
• Secure corporate and utility PPAs early, including cross-border and virtual PPAs, to underpin project finance and diversify offtake risk
• Allocate capital to grid studies and curtailment mitigation (e.g., redundancy, reactive power, and flexibility solutions) to improve interconnection success
  
• Pre-fund critical pre-construction works (site access, geotech, topographic surveys) to compress EPC mobilization schedules
  
• Use part of the facility as development revolving credit, recycling proceeds from asset sell-downs and RTB sales to compound pipeline growth
  
• Strengthen the balance sheet to unlock cheaper, larger project-level debt and attract institutional co-investors
  
• Target agrivoltaics and dual-use sites to widen land availability and improve planning outcomes in constrained markets
  
• Enhance currency and interest-rate risk management for multi-country buildouts, protecting margins through construction and operation
  
• Invest in digital development tools (GIS land screening, yield modeling, permitting trackers) to scale origination efficiently
  
• Build a sustainability and local content strategy to win tenders and meet evolving ESG and supply-chain requirements