SunEdison has entered into a $146 million finance agreement with International Finance Corporation (IFC) for the construction of three solar photovoltaic power plants totaling 81.7 MW in the Republic of Honduras.
In addition to IFC, the USD non-recourse debt financing arrangement was also made with the Central American Bank for Economic Integration (CABEI) and the OPEC Fund for International Development (OFID).
The project is expected to be one of the first large -scale grid-connected solar projects in the country as well as the largest renewable energy development in Central America to date.
In 2014, the Government of Honduras awarded contracts for nearly 600 megawatts of solar power, out of which SunEdison secured a total of 81.7 megawatts.
The three solar plants will be Pacifico (23.3 megawatts), Choluteca I (23.3 megawatts) and Choluteca II (35.1 megawatts), to be constructed in Choluteca region of Honduras.
The plants will be interconnected in 2015, providing energy to the national grid under 20-year power purchase agreements with ENEE, the state-owned utility firm.
Renewable energy is a priority for IFC in Central America. The IFC provided direct financing for $85.9 million USD, including $65.5 million USD senior debt and $20 million USD subordinated debt.
In a similar development, the National Energy Commission in Chile has awarded SunEdison a contract to supply 570 gigawatt hours of clean energy a year.
SunEdison will invest $700 million USD to develop 350 megawatts of utility scale solar photovoltaic power plants throughout the country, which will be added to the call right list of TerraForm.
The solar energy will be purchased by the National Energy Commission on a 15 year power purchase agreements.
Without incentives and subsidies, solar energy is 10-25 percent more affordable than imported fossil fuels in Chile.
Sabeena Wahid
[email protected]