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Washington, D.C./Santiago, November 6, 2013
-- IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, with the support of the Government of Canada, and DEG, the German development finance institution, have completed a loan package to finance the expansion of La Huayca, the first merchant solar photovoltaic (PV) plant in Northern Chile.
IFC will provide debt financing of up to $28.6 million, including $14.3 million from IFC’s account and $14.3 million from the IFC-Canada Climate Change Program. DEG will provide $18.5 million. The Government of Canada’s contribution was instrumental in making the finance package viable.
"IFC is pleased to support the first project-financed merchant solar plant in Chile", said Gabriel Goldschmidt, IFC Senior Manager for Infrastructure in Latin America and the Caribbean. "We hope that this transaction will help to accelerate the development of the solar photovoltaic industry in the country".
SPS La Huayca S.A., a company owned by saferay, a German solar power developer, is expanding the existing 1.4 megawatt La Huayca plant to 30 megawatts. The plant is located near La Huayca, a town about 40 kilometers east of the port city of Iquique in the northern part of Atacama Desert - a region that benefits from one of the highest levels of solar irradiation in the world.
“La Huayca was one of the first solar PV plants in Chile, and is currently the largest. The experience gained from the pilot plant will help us tremendously with our expansion plans”, said Marko Schulz, Managing Director of saferay. “The financial support of IFC, DEG and the Government of Canada is helping us demonstrate that solar energy has great potential to diversify Chile’s energy mix to include commercially sustainable renewable energy projects”.
The strategic location of the plant, adjacent to one of the country’s principal mining energy demand centers, will decrease the load on the overburdened capacity of its transmission system and serve to stabilize its electricity grid. The expanded plant is expected to avoid GHG emissions of 24,500 tons of CO
2
per year.
“The global challenge of climate change requires a global solution and the Government of Canada is proud to support environmental efforts such as these,” said Canada’s Environment Minister, the Hon.Leona Aglukkaq, Canada's Minister of the Environment, Minister of the Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency, and Minister of the Arctic Council.
About the IFC-Canada Climate Change Program
The IFC-Canada Climate Change Program promotes private sector financing for clean energy projects. Canada’s financing to IFC for this program is part of its overall fast-start financing contribution for 2010–2011. Under the Copenhagen Accord, developed countries committed to provide fast-start financing of almost $30 billion for 2010–2012 to support climate-change mitigation and adaptation in developing countries. As part of Canada’s commitment to support climate change action in developing countries, Canada is contributing $1.2 billion Canadian dollars in new and additional climate-change financing over three years (fiscals 2010–2013).
About IFC
IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, is the largest global development institution focused exclusively on the private sector. We help developing countries achieve sustainable growth by financing investment, mobilizing capital in international financial markets, and providing advisory services to businesses and governments. In FY12, our investments reached an all-time high of more than $20 billion, leveraging the power of the private sector to create jobs, spark innovation, and tackle the world’s most pressing development challenges. To date, IFC has financed 21 solar projects in four continents with an installed capacity of more than 431 megawatts for a total financing of $710 million, and 23 wind energy projects with an installed capacity of more than 1,862 megawatts for a total financing of $1.2 billion. For more information, visit
www.ifc.org
About DEG
DEG – Deutsche Investitions- und Entwicklungsgesellschaft mbH, a subsidiary of KfW, is one of the largest European development finance institutions. For more than 50 years, DEG has been financing and structuring the investments of private companies in developing and emerging market countries. DEG invests in profitable projects that contribute to sustainable development in all sectors of the economy, from agribusiness to infrastructure and manufacturing to services. The financial sector is a further focus in order to facilitate reliable access to investment capital locally. DEG’s aim is to establish and expand private enterprise structures in developing and emerging countries, and thus create the basis for sustainable economic growth and a lasting improvement in the living conditions of the local population.
www.deginvest.de
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