Washington D.C., December 14, 2010—
IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, has arranged financing for the 67.5-megawatt La Mata-La Ventosa wind farm that will increase sources of renewable energy in Mexico, while helping develop Oaxaca, one of the country’s lowest-income regions.
IFC provided 310 million Mexican pesos in long-term debt to the project developer and implemented a $15 million concessional loan from the World Bank-administered Clean Technology Fund. The Export-Import Bank of the United States (Ex-Im Bank) provided a US$81 million loan. IFC also provided cross-currency and fixed interest rate swaps for the project to hedge the US Dollar loans provided by Ex-Im Bank and CTF. The Inter-American Development Bank also provided a loan of 275 million Mexican Pesos.
The La Mata-La Ventosa wind farm was developed by Eléctrica del Valle de México S. de R.L. de C.V. The project is sponsored by EDF Energies Nouvelles, the renewable energy development arm of the French utility, EDF group. The wind farm is the first to install Clipper Windpower turbines internationally.
Fabienne Demol of EDF Energies Nouvelles, said, “We welcome the support and leadership of IFC for this important project. Our partnership with IFC in Mexico strengthens the project and creates opportunity for further cooperation between the two institutions globally.”
The La Mata-La Ventosa wind farm is located in the Isthmus of Tehuantepec in the state of Oaxaca, one of Mexico’s lowest-income regions. The area has one of the best wind resources globally and could become one of the world’s largest wind-power-generating regions. The project will provide land lease payments, an important source of monthly income for the ejido landowners on whose land the turbines stand. The wind farm is also expected to displace the equivalent of 156,500 tons of carbon dioxide annually.
Bernard Sheahan, IFC Director for infrastructure investments in Latin America and the Caribbean, said, “IFC is confident that the La Mata-La Ventosa project demonstrates the viability and readiness of the Mexican wind-energy sector to rapidly scale up and replicate other wind power projects across the country, therefore we lent our support to EDF-EN to bring it to successful completion.”
For more about IFC in Latin America and the Caribbean, please visit
www.ifc.org/lac
.
About IFC
IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, creates opportunity for people to escape poverty and improve their lives. We foster sustainable economic growth in developing countries by supporting private sector development, mobilizing capital for private enterprise, and providing advisory and risk mitigation services to businesses and governments. New investments for IFC’s own account totaled $4.9 billion in fiscal 2010 (ending June 30, 2010), helping channel capital into developing countries during the inancial crisis. For more information, visit
www.ifc.org
.