Spain’s Acciona Energy secured a financing arrangement for Mexican wind power that it says is the biggest deal ever signed in Latin America for a renewable energy project.
Acciona Energy is a subsidiary of Madrid-based Acciona (ANA.MC)
Ten financial entities, mostly linked to global or regional public institutions–some of them specifically oriented to supporting sustainable projects in developing countries–signed financing agreements for Acciona’s Eurus windpark in Mexico. The credit deals signed by the different entities total 375 million dollars.
The Eurus windpark in the state of Oaxaca, with 250.5 megawatts (MW) already in service, has the highest installed capacity in Latin America and is the biggest built by Acciona in the world. Its production will cover up to 25% of the electricity supply needs of the cement plants of Cemex (NYSE: CX) in Mexico. The windpark’s renewable production will avoid the emission of around 600,000 tons of CO2 to the atmosphere a year.
The financing agreements for the windpark were signed by global and regional entities such as the International Finance Corporation (IFC), which reports to the World Bank, Banco Interamericano de Desarrollo (IDB) and Corporación Financiera Andina (CAF), the main source of multilateral financing in the region.
The group of signatories also includes the Mexican companies Nacional Financiera (NAFIN) and Banco Interamericano de Comercio Exterior (BANCOMEXT); the Instituto de Crédito Oficial (ICO) of Spain, the French company Promotion et Participation pour la Coopération Économique (PROPARCO), and Deutsche Investitions und Entwicklungs Gesellschaft (DEG) from Germany.
Two private institutions complete the list of financing entities: BBVA and Banco Spirito Santo (BES).
The total sum financed, the country in which the funds are materialized and the type of entities participating in the operation make this a singular agreement, in line with the new financing scenarios for this type of installation in developing countries.
Acciona Energy was recently granted the construction and operation of
another three windparks in the state of Oaxaca (Mexico) with a total
capacity of 306 MW and an investment of around 450 million euros
(approx. 562 million dollars at the current exchange rate).
The
construction of the windparks, located near the Eurus facility, will
begin in the second semester of 2010 and they will all be in commercial
operation by December 2011. These facilities will consist of 1.5-MW
turbines made by Acciona Windpower.
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