By Greentech Lead America: Overseas Private Investment
Corporation (OPIC), the U.S. Government’s development finance institution,
approved $185 million in financing for the construction of two 20-megawatt
solar power plants in Peru. The initiative is OPIC’s second major solar project
in Peru within a year.
The new OPIC
financing will enable Conduit Capital Partners, a private equity investment
firm, to finance the construction and operation of the Tacna and Panamericana
solar plants in Peru’s rural south. The plants are expected to produce nearly
100 million kilowatt hours of electricity annually. The electricity generated
by the plants will be sold to Peru’s national grid.
The project will be a significant step forward in the
renewable energy sector for the country. Peru is facing one of the lowest rural
electrification rates in Latin America.
Access to electricity in Peru has increased from 45
percent in 1990 to 89 percent in 2011, coverage in the predominantly poor rural
areas is about 30 percent, with more than six million Peruvians lacking electricity.
“The Peruvian government, in partnership with the
private sector, continues to make great strides in bringing electricity to the
majority of its population. This project will enable Peru to take advantage of
its great solar potential in order to increase energy access in rural, poorer
areas where the need is greatest,” said Elizabeth Littlefield, OPIC
president and CEO.
Last June, OPIC’s Board approved $123 million in
financing for the construction of two 20-megawatt solar power plants, the first
large-scale solar power project in the country.