We provide our clients with professional assistance in obtaining large project financing in from our renowned high-net-worth angel investors and investment funds, including loans for the implementation of large projects.

Do you have an approved project?

Are you looking for financing on favorable terms? contact CP Finance UK Finance 

Our partners include the largest Spanish banks such as Santander, BBVA, CaixaBank and a number of other reputable financial institutions.

We individually approach the selection of source and terms of financing for each investment project, facilitating the receipt of funds on the most favorable terms for the our client.

The main problems in obtaining a business loan and Large project financing:

• Lack of adequate collateral. One of the most common reasons a bank refuses to finance a project is the lack of collateral or suitable project participants. Very often this is associated with high credit risk. We have an individual solution for each client.

• Many banks with different criteria. Lack of experience and in-depth knowledge about how each bank works, as well as the complexity of approving a business loan or interim financing, is the second most common reason for refusal.

Our company is involved in financing large international projects in the energy and transport sectors, waste processing, industrial production, mining and processing of minerals and other industries.

We offer:

• Profitable financing models.
• Conducting a feasibility study.
• Design and construction from scratch.
• Operation, maintenance and repair.
• Project management, etc.

For over 30 years, we have been actively cooperating with private and public companies in Europe, Asia, Africa and Latin America.

Discover the benefits of working with us:

• Three decades of practical experience.
• Active presence in many countries.
• Implemented investment projects for many billions of euros.
• Combining the best financial instruments based on our own know-how.
• Partnership with leading EU commercial banks

We always practice an individual approach to each client.

Since each project is unique, we have developed our own algorithm, which guarantees the creation of optimal conditions for obtaining a business loan, regardless of the degree of credit risk and collateral.

We speak the same language with you and your bank.

Cooperation on financing large projects consists of the following stages:

• Analysis of your investment project. This is the first stage in which we will consider your contract with a financing organization, the current status depending on whether it is a company with a long history or a newly created project company. At this stage, we get a general idea of the situation.

• Development of a financial strategy. At the second stage, our specialists are negotiating with partner banks about specific requirements for the applicant and the project. We develop flexible financing schemes in the absence of sufficient collateral and present you a ready-made plan for obtaining a business loan.

• Signing a contract and service. This part of the work is related to the separation of advance, intermediate and final payments (depending on the chosen strategy), the issuance of the project and a possible change in the terms of the contract.

Would you like more information about large project financing and investment banking services? Contact our experts at any convenient time.

Large project financing: Our core service

Project finance is a unique financing technique used by many well-known corporate projects.

This method is a complex combination of financial, legal and organizational principles that are used to finance large-scale projects in the extractive industries, construction of pipelines and oil refineries, energy facilities, waste processing plants and other facilities.

Project finance is becoming the preferred alternative to traditional methods of funding for infrastructure and other large project financing around the world.

Project financing involves the investment of funds necessary for the implementation of an investment project from scratch. These funds can be generated from various sources, including business own funds (depreciation, retained earnings) and borrowed funds (venture capital funds, bank lending), as well as assistance from international organizations and the state budget.

A very common form is the so-called co-financing, which is expressed in the partnership of two or more institutions in providing financial support for the implementation of an investment project.

Typically, a project investor is a company that implements it. However, in the second half of the last century, the practice of using a wider range of sources, including project finance investment banking, appeared as a steady trend in industrialized countries.

As for state financial support, it is often provided in the form of state guarantees for obtaining loans, tax benefits, and so on. More rarely, entrepreneurs can rely on direct funding from the state budget.

Financing of large investment projects is usually carried out by large financial associations (permanent or created specifically for the implementation of a particular project – a consortium), as well as international financial organizations.

Project finance differs from traditional lending. This type of financing is provided not only by commercial banks, but also investment banks, investment funds, pension funds, as well as specialized funds of international and regional organizations, leasing companies, etc.

Investment loans for business in Europe

A loan from a bank is one of the most common forms of large project financing financing and businesses.

However, at the moment we are observing the following trend: well-known companies with a credit history can get easier access to project finance investment banking than young companies.

A positive point in the case of attracting a business loan is that your company maintain greater independence in managing the project and the funds received.

There are also disadvantages.

As we have already mentioned, obtaining a loan to finance a newly created business is a difficult task. It is very problematic to find a bank that is ready to offer favorable conditions and low interest rates for young companies.

Business loans as a source of funds for the implementation of investment projects are provided on strictly defined conditions.

From the point of view of commercial bank, loan to finance investment project is risky. Therefore, banks usually set a higher interest rate and risk premium.

Banks bear this risk only with reliable guarantees of the effectiveness of the project and sufficient collateral. In many cases, banks act as entrepreneurs and actively intervene in the development and implementation of the project, up to the management of an already commissioned facility.

Some commercial banks in the loan agreement for the construction of a certain investment object reserve the right to convert part of the loan into shares of the company managing the project.

This makes project finance one of the leverage for merging industrial and banking capital.

The reality is that today it is quite difficult to get business investment loans on optimal terms. In this regard, it is extremely important to have a reliable partner who is ready to offer a loan guarantee.

The main sources of project financing

Questions that business seeks answers to when searching for sources of financing:

• How much money is required to implement an investment project?
• What sources of large project finance are available to business?
• What is the cost of various sources of financing?
• What is the weighted average cost of capital for a new venture?
• What is the structure of sources of financing for an investment project?
• When can a business require borrowed funds?

Successful large project financing and investment security will ultimately depend on the correct answer to each of these questions.

Sources of financing are divided into internal and external:

• Internal: retained earnings, depreciation, disinvestment (refusal to invest in other projects).
• External: equity (issuance of common and preferred shares), borrowed capital (bonds and mortgages, short-term borrowed capital), as well as financing through leasing.

As a rule, a company uses several sources of financing for its investment projects.

Financing from each source has its own cost.

The company should find a financing structure in which the cost of providing and using capital is minimal, and the risk can be considered acceptable.

Internal sources of financing

Project financing can be carried out at the expense of retained earnings. The so-called retained earnings is part of the net income that remains after the fulfillment of all obligations, including the payment of dividends.

This income can be used in two ways:

• Reinvestment in the company.
• Distribution of funds among shareholders.

It is also possible financing through depreciation. The depreciation fund of the enterprise is intended to restore worn-out fixed assets.

These funds are also used to finance projects.

Opportunities for using depreciation funds:

• The amount of cash receipts from depreciation, as a rule, is greater than what is needed to replace fixed assets at a certain moment (receipts are always the same or even higher at the beginning if a regressive system is used).
• Depreciation and retained earnings are practically not differentiated and, despite their different origins, they are used together to finance the company’s investment projects.
• Replacement of certain assets is deferred beyond the depreciation period.

Another internal source of financing is disinvestment, which includes the sale of company property, inventory reduction, as well as accelerated debt collection.

External sources of financing

Currently, external sources of financing provide the main flow of funds for business development.

These funds are formed from several sources.

Firstly, it is equity (issue of common shares). A common share, in essence, gives ownership of a part of the property of the joint-stock company.

This has the following consequences for owners of common shares:

• Receiving a dividend, the amount of which is not set in advance.
• Obtaining a share of the property in case of liquidation of the company.
• The right to dispose of retained earnings of the company.
• The right to control the activities of the company.
• Responsibility to the extent of equity in the event of bankruptcy.

These shareholders are the last in line for compensation and run the risk of losing invested funds if the owners of bonds and preferred shares, as well as banks receive all assets as compensation.

The next possible source is the issue of preferred shares.

Features of preferred shares are as follows:

• The owners of these shares are entitled to receive a pre-agreed dividend.
• With regard to receiving dividends and distributing the remaining capital during liquidation, they have an advantage over holders of common shares, but are inferior to holders of bonds and other debt obligations.

It is also possible to raise funds by issuing bonds.

Bonds are securities issued by a company to a lender under a long-term loan.

As a debt document, bonds have a certain nominal value. They are issued for a certain period, and interest paid depends on the established rate.

At the end of the maturity, the bonds are redeemed, that is, the amount equal to the nominal value is paid to creditors.

In the event that compensation is received related to liquidation and other reasons, bondholders have the highest priority (together with banks that have provided business loans).

Project finance and investment banking can be carried out by issuing business loans:

• Bank loans for investment purposes are issued for a certain period (usually 3 to 10 years).
• Loans are paid together with interest in regular periodic payments (annually, six months).
• Sometimes repayment of a bank loan begins after a grace period.

In addition to local and foreign banks, a loan on similar conditions can be obtained from other financial institutions, venture capital companies, as well as from state specialized funds, etc.

For some large projects, one of the alternative sources of project financing is leasing. The use of leasing is associated with the formation of a cash flow based on the price of new equipment, agreed rental payments, losses from non-use of the tax benefit from depreciation and other.

Venture financing is usually directed to startups with fast growth and expected high market value, as well as to established companies.

Its features include:

• Given the high risk and an active role in planning, management and marketing, the venture company expects a high return on investment.
• Financing is carried out over a long period (on average 5–6 years) and is usually carried out through the acquisition of property through shares or a loan, but with the corresponding reservations in the share purchase agreement.

The profit of a venture company is formed in the form of an increase in invested capital when the company becomes public or when a merger or purchase occurs.

Venture capital funds invest in the acquisition of shares in the company.

They assume significant risk — similar to the risk incurred by the entrepreneur, and therefore expect high returns.

Thanks to this source, entrepreneurs get the opportunity to start and develop a new business or innovative idea. They can rely on qualified assistance to manage a new company, as well as take advantage of investor contacts. In turn, the investor receives a high return on investment.

Our financing innovative projects in Europe and beyond

Investments are one of the main factors in successful economic activity, improving quality and reducing costs, improving competitiveness, attracting new customers, etc.

Investments are the use of funds in a certain type of activity for a certain period of time, for which the owner of the funds will receive an income exceeding the initial amount of the investment.

Such an understanding of the nature of investment is limited in terms of innovation.

Traditional criteria for choosing an investment project, which are mainly financial in nature, are not sufficient.

Investment in innovation is the money spent on the development and / or adaptation of an innovative, high-tech and / or scientific product.

Investing involves the targeted use of capital, which leads to the implementation of the company’s development strategy. Investment at the company level is closely tied to planning documents and strategic decisions.

In practice, however, few companies in developing countries associate investment with long-term strategic priorities. In most cases, investments are focused on narrow financial indicators, which are not necessarily associated with strategic prospects or even with the achievement of tactical improvements in non-financial indicators, such as quality, customer satisfaction, image, etc.

Despite the growing importance of non-financial indicators when choosing an investment project, many commercial organizations continue to allocate resources through tactical decisions that focus on short-term financial parameters in the form of cash inflows.

These organizations do not include financing potential long-term opportunities in the allocation of company resources. This requires the creation of a mechanism for integrating strategic planning into the resource allocation process. Streamlining strategic investments requires evaluating each potential investment financially and non-financially.

Investing in innovation is a complex process with high risk.

The investment decision involves the selection of mutually exclusive or competing alternatives for the most efficient investment of resources with an acceptable level of risk.

Financing innovative large projects typically covers the following:

• Analysis of the current situation.
• Forecasting and evaluating potential business opportunities.
• Forecasting potential future changes in the business environment.
• Assessment of the cost of resources: financial, personnel, informational and organizational.
• Assessment of future results in quantitative and qualitative terms.

Innovation is rarely associated with increased productivity and lower costs in the short term.

This is the key difficulty in finding funds.

Another important feature of investing in innovation is the need to manage and control costs throughout the entire product life cycle.

Competencies, information support and technology, as well as organizational structure and the ecosystem are the most important factors in increasing the efficiency of innovative processes.

Of course, resources have a price, but quantitative parameters are not always the most important when implementing an innovative project. Often, quality indicators need to be prioritized to assess resources.

Human potential, considered as an investment in innovation, includes the presence of highly qualified specialists in all necessary fields, as well as the ability to effectively work on various projects in growing teams.

Information technology and information as an investment in innovation presupposes the availability of hardware and software, up-to-date and reliable information of an interdisciplinary nature.

Organizational capital as an investment in innovative activities of the company includes teamwork, culture and spirit of the company.

Due to the lack of necessary investment opportunities for innovation, many East European companies and companies in developing countries are faced with a limitation of innovative development.

We are ready to help you with finding sources of financing for your business, including obtaining investment loans for large project financing.

Our project finance investment banking services

In addition to the standard set of financial instruments, we assist our clients in obtaining loans from leading European banks for large infrastructure, energy and environmental facilities around the world.

Applicants can be both newly established companies and existing businesses with a long credit history.

Depending on the scale of a specific project, we can arrange syndication or external co-financing with other financial institutions, including using European investment mechanisms.

A key element in evaluating potential investment projects is the ability to generate sufficient cash flows to service the financing provided and the normal operation of the project.

The conditions of this type of financing are formed in accordance with the specifics of each project.

For the initial consideration of  large project financing, customers should provide the following documentation:

• A detailed business plan containing a detailed financial model of the project.
• Official documentation on the legal, tax and financial status of the borrower.
• All necessary permits, licenses, contracts and other relevant documents related to the construction and operation of the facility.

To learn more about obtaining a business loan for large investment projects, contact us.

CP Finance UK FINANCE LIMITED
Website:https://c-pfinanceuk.com/
E-mail:finance@cpuk-financeltd.com
Alt-Email:admin@cpukfinanceltd.com

Large power plant construction cost are the backbone of the energy system, providing uninterrupted power supply to residential buildings, industrial consumers and infrastructure.

Despite its high social importance, large power plant construction should be profitable and attractive to investors.

This takes into account both the initial investment costs associated with the construction and the operating costs that the owners of the facility will incur over the years.

Any power plant, be it a wind farm, a hydroelectric power plant or a solar power plant, is a multifaceted and technically complex project that requires the use of customized engineering and financial solutions to ensure its viability. The type of power plant, the choice of technologies and equipment, the scale of the project, location and other factors have a significant impact on investment costs.

The cost of building a large power plant construction is a critical factor in this equation that influences the final decision of the stakeholders.

How much does it cost to construct large power plant of different types?

The type of power plant is the main factor influencing the cost of an investment project and determining its economic viability.

However, investors must evaluate not only the cost of construction, but also other costs that will accompany a particular project throughout its life cycle. Construction costs for a wind farm and a solar power plant are typically significantly higher compared to combined cycle thermal power plants, while operating costs due to fuel costs in the latter case are many times higher than in most renewable sources.

Technical constraints, projected demand, environmental requirements, fuel consumption, maintenance, equipment modernization and other factors should be considered when planning investments in energy facilities in the long term.

Most important, however, are capital expenditures, which include the cost of all phases, from the draft to connecting the power plant to the grid.

Access to energy infrastructure, labor costs, legal frameworks, environmental restrictions, bank policies and many other factors should be taken into account in order to predict the final figure as accurately as possible. But even this does not give confidence that the project participants will be able to avoid budget overruns and construction schedule delays.

For example, the recent pandemic and geopolitical crisis in Europe came as an unpleasant surprise for numerous companies around the world, increasing the cost of some projects and calling into question the viability of others. Adding volatile prices for materials and equipment to supply chain problems, we can get a rough idea of the risks that await any company in the early stages of the energy project.

Our customized financial models, project finance services and flexible refinancing solutions can reduce the cost of capital for your project and get you through a difficult period.

Comparison of available cost options

The cost of construction is not the only criterion taken into account when choosing from several energy alternatives.

To justify the economic efficiency of different options for power plants, the method of comparative efficiency is usually used.

For the economic comparison of options, the so-called integral economic effect is used, the maximum value of which determines the most effective of them. Auxiliary criteria for comparing alternative projects are the internal rate of return, the return on investment, the payback period, financial incentives, utilization ration and others.

The integral economic effect is defined as the difference between the result of activity and costs for a certain period. The result is the proceeds from the sold electric and thermal energy, while the annual costs include the costs of building and operating a power plant of a certain type.

All compared projects are brought to an equal energy effect. In this case, this is an equal annual supply of electricity throughout the entire period of operation or the analyzed period.

As a criterion for the effectiveness, experts suggest using the total costs or the average cost of electricity supplied.

For most power plants, when determining the costs for the entire period (including the construction stage and the estimated operating life), the following is taken into account:

• capital investments;
• fuel costs (if applicable);
• modernization, major and current repair costs;
• staff salaries and services of third-party specialists;
• equipment maintenance costs;
• emission charge (if applicable);
• the cost of buying or renting land;
• land tax and other taxes and fees;
• annual payments on loans and so on.

When planning a large power plant construction, participants must clearly understand the business needs, on the basis of which technical requirements are developed and the most suitable financial models are selected.

For example, the most expensive solar power plants cost up to 1.5-2 billion euros, and the final cost of such a facility may differ significantly from the expectations of investors at the initial stage. Given the scale of construction, mistakes can cost hundreds of millions.

Construction costs for solar power plants

Modern solar power generation is based on two technologies.

Firstly, it is simple and affordable photovoltaics, which directly converts solar energy into direct current.

Secondly, it is an indirect method of concentrating solar energy using reflectors to heat a thermal transfer medium such as molten salt or a thermal oil, which then drives a turbine and generates electricity even in the absence of solar radiation.

How much does a solar PV power plant cost?

The cost of building photovoltaic systems depends on many factors, with a clear trend towards decreasing cost per megawatt of installed capacity as the scale of an investment project increases.

How much does a 1 MW solar farm cost?

This question usually starts the discussion of photovoltaic investments.

The total cost of building a photovoltaic power plant ranges from 600 thousand to 1.2 million euros per MW, depending on the project and the components used.

The cost of building solar power plants is decreasing every year due to scientific progress, the political will of leading countries and economies of scale affecting the production of equipment. The EU and most of the developed countries of the world require an increase in the production of energy from renewable sources every year, so government policies will favor investors in building more photovoltaic systems.

The emergence of more efficient photovoltaic cells and sustainable reduction in prices for photovoltaic equipment are leading to an ever faster return on investment.

In 2010, the average cost of building solar PV power plants in the world was about 4.8 million euros per megawatt of installed capacity. In 2022, this figure dropped to 800 thousand euros per MW, showing an impressive sixfold reduction in construction costs over the past 12 years.

When deciding to build a photovoltaic farm, in addition to buying inverters and panels, you need to consider land costs, construction, installation, connection, fencing and monitoring costs.

In terms of performance, an average 100 MW solar power plant located at the latitude of Northern Germany, for example, produces about 100 GWh of green energy annually.

According to studies, 1 MW of PV panels, including auxiliary equipment, require approximately 2.6-2.9 hectares of land.

Therefore, a solar power plant with an installed capacity of 50 MW will require at least 130 hectares of land, not counting administrative buildings and infrastructure. A long-term lease of land for building a solar power plant can cost from a few hundred euros to 1,000 euros or more per hectare of land annually, depending on the type of area.

It is important to take into account the costs that arise at all stages of an investment project, including the cost of operation and maintenance, the cost of financing, as well as the potential reduction in generation as a result of the natural decrease in the efficiency of photovoltaic modules.

Thanks to the rapid development of photovoltaic technology, the market offers durable PV panels, the productivity of which decreases linearly by about 15% after 25 years of operation.

The payback period of a modern photovoltaic farm reaches 8-10 years with a life cycle of about 25 years.

The cost of concentrated solar power plants (CSP)

An important advantage of such systems is the storage of energy in the form of a heated molten salt for long hours, which makes it possible to accumulate excess energy falling on reflective surfaces during daylight hours. This is very important for regions such as the Middle East and North Africa, where the intensity of solar radiation during the daytime is very high.

The largest operating power plants of this type, such as the Noor Complex Solar Power Plant (Morocco), are located in regions with the highest intensity of solar radiation, due to rational technical reasons.

Unlike photovoltaic systems, concentrated solar power plants have not shown a significant reduction in capital costs over the past decade. These are very expensive and technically complex projects based on the so-called Thermal Energy Storage technologies (TES), which are still quite capital intensive. In 2010-2011, industrial-scale CSP systems cost an average of 10 million euros per 1 MW of installed capacity, while in 2019-2020 this figure varied from 5 to 8 million euros.

Photovoltaic systems are much easier to build and install.

But like other solar power plants, CSP projects require huge land plots for the installation of reflectors, so the cost of buying / renting land plots is also high in this case.

It should also be remembered that the operation and maintenance of concentrated solar power plants is very expensive due to the use of chemical heat transfer fluids and special operating modes.

Moreover, some chemicals create certain environmental risks, which affects the cost of the project and its investment attractiveness.

Looking to the future, new research aims to transform excess carbon dioxide from atmospheric air with the help of light. In this context, CSP projects may become industrial CO2 harvesting plants over the next decades. This will start the global process of atmospheric decarbonization and open up a new source of income for the owners of next-generation concentrated solar power plants.

Construction costs for wind farms

There are many advantages of wind power, including environmental and economic ones.

The total kinetic energy of the wind in the world is estimated to be about 80 times higher than the total energy consumption of the world economy. Although only a certain percentage of this total can be used for energy needs, the future development of this technology has enormous potential.

Regardless of the type of project, building a large industrial scale wind farm is a significant investment that can require hundreds of millions of euros in the early stages. However, given the rising cost of electricity and significant advances in wind power generation, successful wind farms demonstrate payback periods of less than 10 years under favorable conditions.

For small wind power plants intended for autonomous generation, the payback period can be up to 12-15 years, depending on the type of equipment, wind speed, mode of use and other factors.

The average time required from the final investment decision to the construction of a wind farm is approximately 1 year for an onshore project and approximately 3 years for an offshore wind farm. This is largely determined by local legislation and regulatory procedures, which vary widely not only in different countries of the world, but even within the EU.

Onshore wind farms: When we talk about onshore wind projects, we mean a wide range of technological solutions of various sizes, designed both for autonomous generation and for power supply of entire cities and regions.

Economies of scale largely determine the cost of building onshore wind farm and large power plant construction

Experts estimate that the installation of a small wind turbine will cost approximately 4,500-5,000 euros per kilowatt of installed capacity. In contrast, large wind power plants cost on average €1.2 million per megawatt installed. The cost of building large wind farms is rapidly declining, primarily due to the introduction of ever more powerful wind turbines.

According to European experts, the cost of building wind farms has decreased by an average of 20-25% between 2015 and 2022, depending on the type of project and the technology used.

Spain has the lowest installed capacity cost per megawatt, while Germany and France show the highest cost of wind projects in Europe (the difference can be up to 35% for similar projects).

Despite technological advances, onshore wind energy experts expect an end to the further decline in the cost of wind farms in the near future.

This is due to factors such as inflation, rising global building material prices and natural size limits for onshore wind turbines.

Offshore wind farms: As far as offshore wind projects are concerned, they have always been more attractive to maritime countries due to the wide availability of suitable construction sites.

The sea shelf, which is not used economically, opens up unlimited opportunities for generating green energy. Another very important advantage of offshore wind turbines is the absence of strict requirements for maximum height, rotor diameter and noise level, which are serious obstacles for the development of onshore projects in densely populated areas, for example, in Europe.

The disadvantage of this technology is the relatively high cost of building offshore wind farms, which is 3-4 times higher than the cost of similar onshore projects. Huge offshore installations are difficult to transport, assemble and install both on the seabed and on floating platforms.

The initial costs associated with the development of such projects can be very high.

At the same time, rapid progress in this area allows energy companies to achieve competitive LCOE.

Over the past 12 years, the cost of an installed megawatt of offshore wind power globally has almost halved, from about 6 million euros to 3-3.5 million euros.

This progress is due to significant improvements in offshore wind power generation technology and the introduction of larger turbines reaching 16-18 MW. In particular, the latest offshore turbine Haizhuang H260-18MW from CSSC (China) was the largest in the world at the beginning of 2023.

One such unit with a 260-meter rotor diameter capable of generating about 74 GWh of electricity every year. The evolution of offshore wind turbines from standard 3-5 MW to 18 MW industrial monsters clearly demonstrates the impact of economies of scale on the cost of building and operating offshore wind farms.

Construction costs for thermal power plants

In 2023, the cost of building traditional thermal power plants will start from 600-800 thousand euros per 1 MW of installed capacity.

In most cases, energy companies have to deal with capital expenditures ranging from 1.2-1.5 million euros per megawatt and even more, depending on the chosen technology, facility location and other factors.

When choosing investment alternatives, the following types of thermal power should be considered:

• steam power plants;
• combined cycle power plants;
• gas turbine power plants.

Combined cycle thermal power plants have a high level of efficiency compared to other types of thermal power plants.

This means better performance in the long term. These power plants are usually built to meet baseline loads. However, the construction of power plants with two cycles of thermal energy requires additional costs, so CCPPs are considered to be much more expensive than traditional steam power plants. Another disadvantage is the long construction period.

The average cost of single shaft combined cycle thermal power plants without advanced emission minimization technologies is about 1-1.3 million euros per megawatt.

When it comes to installing carbon capture and sequestration equipment, the cost of the project could skyrocket to 2.5-2.8 million euros per megawatt of installed capacity.

Following the path of increasing efficiency, some companies are now focusing on building advanced ultra-supercritical coal-fired power plants (AUSC). These power plants with special technologies for burning finely dispersed coal produce steam at a temperature of 700-750 C, reaching net efficiency rates of 49-50%.

These impressive figures require the use of expensive equipment and heat-resistant materials, which increases the cost of building typical AUSC power plants to 3 million euros per megawatt of installed capacity.

The introduction of carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) technologies increases the cost of such power plants to 5-6 million euros per megawatt.

Equipment, building materials (eg steel and aluminium) and labor are important factors influencing the final cost of thermal power plants.

Most projects of this type take at least 3-5 years, so fluctuations in variable costs are important to consider when planning investment projects and large power plant construction.

Construction costs for hydropower plants

In 2022, the average cost of building hydroelectric power plants and large power plant construction in the world was about 1.9 million euros per megawatt of installed capacity.

There are no signs of price declines in this segment as the hydropower sector relies heavily on available land and civil works costs rather than on changing technologies. Today it is one of the most expensive power generation technologies in the world.

Moreover, the rising cost of labor and building materials are making this type of power plant increasingly expensive for investors.

For example, between 2010 and 2022, the average cost of hydroelectric power plants increased by 30-50%, depending on the region and project type.

Despite high construction costs, hydropower plants remain the backbone of low-carbon power generation. These facilities do not require significant operating and maintenance costs, which makes the generated electricity affordable and competitive.

In addition to large powerful hydroelectric power plants, which have been actively built in East Asia in recent years, business is interested in mini-hydroepower plants.

These are small facilities with an installed capacity of no more than 10-30 MW (classification depends on the country), capable of providing cheap electricity to plants, factories and remote settlements that do not have access to the power grid.

The cost of such power plants per megawatt will be higher compared to large projects, but the potential for local power generation is huge, especially in countries with numerous small rivers (eg UK, Canada, Brazil, Poland, Romania and others).

Construction costs for geothermal power plants

Geothermal facilities are characterized by a wide variety of technologies used, which explains the differences in project costs of large power plant construction.

Much depends on the type of project, location, depth and temperature of the geothermal source and a number of other factors. On average, the cost of geothermal power plants in 2023 varies from 3 to 5 million euros per megawatt.

Dry steam, binary cycle or other engineering decisions largely determine the financial aspects of a particular project. Obviously, the direct use of hot water available close to the ground requires a much lower investment compared to drilling deep wells. Moreover, exploration work in the early stages of a project may require millions of euros of investment, and these funds must be raised by the owners in an environment of economic uncertainty and risk.

Unlike large power plant construction as solar or wind energy, geothermal projects have not fallen in price over the past decade.

Investment costs of large power plant construction are affected by the high cost of drilling equipment, as well as the rising cost of labor and building materials, which account for a large share of the total cost of such projects.

According to Fitch Solution, construction costs for geothermal power plants have increased from 2.6 million euros per megawatt in 2010 to 4.4 million euros per megawatt in 2020. Due to technical constraints and high capital costs, the levelized cost of electricity generated from geothermal sources, also remains relatively high, which hinders the further development of this sector.

Not surprisingly, geothermal power plants remain the second choice for a limited number of countries with favorable geological conditions.

These include the United States, the Philippines, Indonesia, Mexico, Turkey, Japan, Italy, New Zealand and a number of other countries that are developing geothermal power generation despite the difficulties.

If you are interested in financing a major energy project, please contact the CP Finance UK FINANCE LIMITED for details.

We offer long-term loans starting from 50 million euros, and we also develop customized project finance solutions for the construction of large power plants, electrical substations and other energy infrastructure.

CP Finance UK FINANCE LIMITED
Website:https://c-pfinanceuk.com/
E-mail:finance@cpuk-financeltd.com
Alt-Email:admin@cpukfinanceltd.com