Wednesday 6 November 2019

Mainstream Renewable Power raises $580m for projects in Chile

Mainstream Renewable Power has raised $580 million (£450m) to fund the construction of solar and wind generation projects in Chile.

It has reached financial close for the first phase of its 1.3GW Andes Renovables project, which consists of seven wind and three solar generation assets in total.

The first phase, called Condor, will include three wind and one solar generation assets with a total capacity of 571MW.

Construction is already underway, with commercial operation expected in 2021.

The projects will generate enough electricity to power around 680,000 homes in Chile and help reduce around 656,000 metric tonnes of carbon a year.

The financing has been provided by a consortium of six banks: CaixaBank, DNB, KfW IPEX-Bank, Natixis, SMBC and Societe Generale. A seventh bank, Banco Santander, provided a VAT facility.

Andy Kinsella, Mainstream’s Group Chief Executive said: “Breaking ground at Mainstream’s 1.3GW Andes Renovables platform is a major milestone in our long-term commitment to bringing low cost, clean energy generation to Chile.

"Today’s announcement will be closely followed by the financial close and start of construction at the second and third phases of Andes Renovables in the coming months.”