The European Investment Bank (EIB) has granted a EUR78.5m loan to Iberdrola for financing a wind farm in the south-west of Mexico.
The EIB loan will help to finance the construction and commissioning of the wind farm comprising 121 turbines with a total capacity of 103MW in Santo Domingo Ingenio, Oaxaca. The project will also include the construction of access roads and interconnection with the high-voltage network.
This is said to be the first EIB loan granted in Mexico under the Sustainable Energy and Security of Supply Facility, which is a EUR3bn multi-annual line for financing projects in non-EU countries that contribute to ensuring a sustainable energy supply.
EIB said that it has been providing loans in Asia and Latin America since 1993 under three successive mandates. Under the current ALA IV mandate for the period 2007-2013 (in addition to the Sustainable Energy and Security of Supply Facility), it is authorized to lend up to EUR3.8bn to finance operations supporting the EU’s presence in the region through direct investment and/or the transfer of technology and know-how, and climate change mitigation projects.
The EUR3.8bn breaks down into indicative amounts of EUR2.8bn for Latin America and EUR1bn for Asia, EIB said.