Aela Energía, a joint venture between Actis and Mainstream Renewable Power, has secured a project financing of $410m for a 299MW wind portfolio in Chile from a consortium of multilateral and commercial banks.
The wind portfolio comprises 170MW Sarco and 129MW Aurora projects, which are expected to break ground following their financial closing.
Investment firm Actis owns 60% in Aela Energía while the remaining 40% is owned by Mainstream Renewable Power.
According to Mainstream, the financing for the projects for a length of 18 years will be handled by Inter-American Development Bank, Inter-American Investment Corporation (IADB-IIC), Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Korean Development Bank, Caixa, Banco Santander and KfW.
The project financing will cover 70% of the financing needed for the projects with the remaining 30% amount will be provided by Actis and Mainstream.
While the Sarco wind farm is being built in Freirina commune in the Atacama region, the Aurora wind farm will come up in Llanquique Commune in Los Lagos region.
German manufacturer Senvion has been given the contract to supply the wind turbines for the Sarco and Aurora wind farms, which are being developed by Mainstream Renewable Power.
Mainstream Chile general manager Bart Doyle said: “These projects were awarded through a competitive tendering process in which wind energy prices came in below fossil fuel prices, clearly demonstrating that renewable energy is cheaper than fossil fuel generation.
“Last year Mainstream was exclusively awarded further supply contracts equivalent to almost 1GW of wind capacity in Chile, representing a 30% share of the auction, which further underpins our commitment to Chile and positions us as the leading independent renewable energy company focused on high-growth emerging markets.”
Slated to be completed in the second half of next year, the Sarco and Aurora wind farms put together will meet the power consumption needs of 460,000 Chilean households.
Image: A 33MW Chilean wind plant developed by Mainstream and owned by Aela Energia. Photo: courtesy of Mainstream Renewable Power.