Andes Renovables is a three phase wind and solar generation project comprised of seven wind and three solar PV generation assets
Image: Mainstream secures $580m funding for Andes Renovables. Photo: Courtesy of Pexels from Pixabay.
Utility-scale wind and solar power plants developer Mainstream Renewable Power has achieved the financial close for the first phase of Andes Renovables wind and solar power generation platform in Chile.
Mainstream has secured $580m in debt from a consortium of six banks, which include CaixaBank, DNB, KfW IPEX-Bank, Natixis, SMBC and Societe Generale, to fund the phase one construction of Andes Renovables.
The funding becomes one of the largest renewable energy debt financing deals undertaken in the region in 2019, said the company.
Mainstream general manager for Latin America Manuel Tagle said: “We are very proud to be leading the way in decarbonising Chile’s electricity system as well as lowering the price of power generation in the country. Today’s announcement of the financial close of Cóndor is particularly significant, as these four new projects alone will displace over 656,000 metric tonnes of C02 per year.
“Furthermore, with an additional 2.7 gigawatts of wind and solar development asset pipeline, the most geographically diverse in the country, we are committed to making an even greater contribution in the decades to come.”
Andes Renovables is one of the biggest wind and solar generation platforms in Latin America
Andes Renovables is a three phase wind and solar generation platform comprised of seven wind and three solar PV generation assets, developed through an approximately $1.7bn investment.
Cóndor, the 571MW first phase of Andes Renovables, is planned to feature three wind and one solar PV generation assets. The next two phases Huemul and Copihue will have a combined capacity of 730MW are underway to reach financial close soon.
Mainstream has already started the construction of the first phase, and the assets are expected to start commercial operation in 2021.
The first phase of the project is anticipated to generate adequate sustainable electricity to power 680,000 homes in Chile and displace 656,000 metric tonnes of CO2 annually.
Sacyr Industrial and Elecnor have been contracted for the construction of the new wind farms, and Vestas, Nordex Acciona and Siemens Gamesa for supplying the wind turbines.
Mainstream Group chief executive Andy Kinsella said: “Breaking ground at Mainstream’s 1.3 gigawatt Andes Renovables platform is a major milestone in our long-term commitment to bringing low cost, clean energy generation to Chile.
“The start of delivery of this USD$1.7 billion, three phase project – one of the largest wind and solar power generation platforms in Latin America – is further evidence of Mainstream’s position as the world’s leading independent developer of renewables, with 9 gigawatts of assets in development across Latin America, Africa and Southeast Asia.”