The wind project is sponsored by Central Puerto and is located west of Bahia Blanc in the southern province of Buenos Aires.
Expected to be operational in April 2018, the project has a capacity to supply about 450GWh of clean electricity into the Argentina Grid Interconnected System (SADI).
Argentina’s government has set an aim to increase renewable energy contribution to 8% of its energy mix by 2018 and this project is expected to add significantly to that target.
IFC’s financing will include a $37m A Loan and a $27m facility from its Managed Co-Lending Portfolio Program (MCPP). The wind farm is claimed to be the first project in Argentina to be financed by the MCPP.
IFC’s financial package will support the construction of the La Castellana wind farm, which is considered to be one of the first projects to have been awarded long term Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) from wholesale electricity market administrator CAMMESA, under Round 1 of Argentina’s RenovAr program.
IFC’s Latin America and Caribbean Infrastructure and Natural Resources Department Senior Manager Gabriel Goldschmidt said: “The La Castellana project is expected to set a benchmark for future commercial financial institution financings for Rounds 2.0 and 3.0 of the RenovAr program, as a significant step in the attraction of diverse sources of funding to the sector.
“The successful international financing of RenovAr program projects will in turn provide greater confidence for international lending institutions to participate in a variety of other infrastructure sectors in Argentina.”
Image: La Castellana is the wind project to have secured PPA from CAMMESA under RenovAr program. Photo: Courtesy of Andrew Purtell/FreeImages.com.
