Project Details
Project
American Municipal Power Green Bond Framework Second-Party Opinion
Client
American Municipal Power
Project Type
Green Bond/Loan
Industry Group
-
Use of Proceeds
-
Location
U.S.
Evaluation Date
Dec 2018
Evaluation Summary
Sustainalytics is of the opinion that the American Municipal Power Green Bond Framework is credible and impactful, and aligns with the four core components of the Green Bond Principles 2018. This assessment is based on the following:
USE OF PROCEEDS
The eligible category for the use of proceeds – renewable energy – is aligned with those recognized by the Green Bond Principles. Sustainalytics considers that the financing of solar energy projects will lead to positive environmental impacts and advance UN Sustainable Development Goal 7: Affordable and Clean Energy.
PROJECT EVALUATION/SELECTION
AMP selected the eligible green projects as a result of its long-term supply planning process, which evaluated all power supply options and made recommendations to its members. This is in line with market practice.
MANAGEMENT OF PROCEEDS
The Framework specifies that, other than expenses related to the issuance of the bond(s) and a deposit to a Debt Service Reserve account, that the proceeds will be used exclusively to refinance amounts payable under the power purchase agreement for approximately 36.8 MW associated with solar energy facilities that entered service between January 2017 and January 2019. At time of issuance, the proceeds will be allocated to AMP’s revolving credit facility to repay expenses related to operational projects. This is in line with market practice.
REPORTING
AMP has committed to quarterly reporting on a number of quantitative impact metrics, as well as allocation reporting at the category level. Based on the stringent impact reporting, Sustainalytics considers this to be representative of best practice.