SunEdison, together with other partners, has recently secured an estimated $146 million non-recourse debt financing deal for the construction of three solar PV plants in Honduras with a total energy output of about 81.7 megawatts.
Solar power project scores $146 million in funding
This huge solar power project will be financed by the International Finance Corporation, the Central American Bank for Economic Integration, and the OPEC Fund for International Development.
With this large amount of financing, this solar power project will be one of the first large-scale grid-connected PV projects in the Republic of Honduras. The country’s intent is to diversify its energy mix while providing its residential and business communities with clean and renewable energy.
SunEdison triumphs over competitors in solar power project & wins biggest contract
Back in early 2014, the Honduras government has awarded contracts to different solar companies for the construction of around 600 megawatts of solar power. SunEdison was awarded the biggest contract, with a total of 81.7 megawatts.
SunEdison plans to complete this 81.7 megawatts requirement by building three solar plants. One solar power project will be designated as Pacifico I, with an estimated 23.3 megawatts capacity.
Another solar power project will be named Choluteca I, which will supply around 23.3 megawatts. The third solar power project is to be designated as Choluteca II, which is estimated to supply 35.1 megawatts when it is fully operational.
Solar power projects set to be completed late 2015
The three solar facilities are scheduled for completion on the second half of 2015 after which they will all be interconnected prior to their full commissioning.
These three solar facilities will supply solar power to Honduras’ national grid under a 20-year power purchase agreement with the ENEE, the state-owned electrical utility. This company handles power supply generation, transmission and distribution in Honduras.
With its solar energy capacity, this project represents the biggest renewable energy development in Central America.
Financing of the project will be partly undertaken by the Clean Technology Fund. This financial organization serves as a funding window of the Climate Investment Funds. It has already provided debt financing to various large-scale solar power projects in 15 countries as well as the MENA (Middle East and North Africa) region.
To date, CTF has approved around $3.9 billion in debt financing to 70 renewable energy projects, having a total capacity of 16.6 GW.
President of SunEdison positive over the company’s achievements
“We are delighted to enter this new high-growth market with world-class financial institutions like the IFC, CABEI and OFID,” said Jose Perez, President of SunEdison for Europe, Middle East, Africa and Latin America.
“Solar energy will play a key role in meeting Honduras’ growing energy demand and will reduce the country’s dependency on imported fuel,” he added. “This latest project demonstrates that SunEdison continues to lead as the largest renewable energy developer in Latin America,” he continued.
The IFC also shares in the excitement expressed by SunEdison. “Renewable energy is a priority for IFC in Central America,” said Gabriel Goldschmidt, IFC Head for Infrastructure in Latin America and the Caribbean.
“We focus on first-of-a-kind projects that demonstrate technical feasibility, attract additional private financing, and encourage key policy reforms,” he added.
