(Press Release) ECOSolar, a unique solar company active in Latin America with in depth knowledge and experience of the solar sector and the region, and solar investment arm of Grupo ECOS, announced the purchase of a minority stake in the project “Maria Elena.”

“Maria Elena” is a 72.8 MW (megawatt) solar power plant developed and constructed by SunEdison in Chile, the world’s largest renewable energy development company. It is one of the largest merchant solar power plants not only in Latin America, but also worldwide.

The plant is located in the Maria Elena municipality, in the Antofagasta region (in the North of Chile) and was built and interconnected in a period of less than 6 months. It injects energy directly into the ‘Sistema Interconectado del Norte Grande‘ (SING) and is currently selling all its production to the spot market.

The construction of “Maria Elena“ was financed through a USD$ 155 million non- recourse senior loan from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), the largest multilateral lender to Latin America and the Caribbean; Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), the U.S. Government’s development finance institution; CorpBanca, (one of the most important Chilean commercial banks), and the Clean Technology Fund (CTF) – a funding window of the Climate Investment Funds, which channels some of its resources through IDB. CorpBanca also provided a USD$ 35 million facility to finance VAT during construction.

ECOSolar will enter into the equity of the “Maria Elena” solar plant as part of its investment strategy that follows the strategy of Grupo ECOS, which is to invest equity in selected Sustainable Development segments, in particular renewable energy projects.

Alberto Rabanal, ECOSolar’s Chief Executive Officer,, stated: “Maria Elena represents a firm step in our strategy of consolidation as being invested in or becoming independent power producers in Chile and Latin America.”

Rabanal added: “In ECOSolar we are committed to being a part of the change of energetic model, thus benefiting the societies where we operate by generating a competitive and safe energy to the environment. We are very proud to have been able to partner with SunEdison who has exceeded our expectations in all phases of the project.