KfW IPEX-Bank finances “Huemul” - second phase of the megaproject “Andes Renovables"

KfW IPEX-Bank is involved in the financing of one of the biggest renewable energy projects in Latin America. After financing the first phase "Cóndor" last year, it is also providing debt capital financing in the amount of approx. USD 79 million for the second phase “Huemul”; the overall investment volume of Andes Renovables adds up to some USD 1.8 billion.

Project sponsor is the Irish wind and solar developer Mainstream Renewable Power Ltd. The three wind farms will be constructed by the Spanish companies Sacyr Industrial, SEMI and Elecnor, and the wind turbines are to be supplied by the European companies Vestas, Nordex Group and Siemens Gamesa. The two solar PV assets will be built by Sterling & Wilson and Metka-Egn. All five main power transformers for the projects will be supplied by Hitachi ABB Power Grids. Grid connection works will be carried out by Transelec, Inprolec and Isotron-Siemens consortium.

All five assets of the 630 megawatt (MW) Huemul-portfolio are in pre-construction and will reach commercial operation between 2021 and 2022. They will generate enough sustainable electricity to power 781,000 Chilean homes and will displace 744,200 metric tonnes of CO2 each year. The build-out has created nearly 1,200 jobs across three regions of the country and has safely continued throughout the COVID-19 pandemic under strict sanitary and social distancing protocols.

The US$ 620 million in debt to fund construction has been provided by a consortium of six banks: IDB Invest, KfW IPEX-Bank, DNB, CaixaBank, SMBC and MUFG, and is one of the largest renewable energy debt financing deals undertaken in the world this year. A seventh bank, Santander, provided a VAT facility. The next and final phase, “Copihue”, is comprised of one further wind asset with a 100 MW capacity and will increase the overall capacity of Andes Renovables to 1.3 GW.

The financing from KfW IPEX-Bank helps ensure a sustainable supply of electricity from renewable sources for Chile and, in this way, makes an important contribution to climate and environmental protection.