Industry News
Financing closes on 54-MW wind park in Tamaulipas
18 January 2013
(Grupo Ecos) Soriana bets on wind energy – Financing closes on 54-MW wind park in Tamaulipas
Organización Soriana, who with the Mexican company GEMEX and Swiss investor Grupo ECOS have formed the company Compañía Eólica de Tamaulipas S.A. de C.V. (CETSA), announce the closing of financing for the construction of its first wind energy project on the farm cooperative known as Ejido El Porvenir in Reynosa, Tamaulipas. The North American Development Bank (NADB) and the Mexican commercial bank Grupo Financiero Banorte (BANORTE) are providing financing to CETSA for the project.
The project consists of the installation of 30 wind turbines, each with a nominal capacity of 1.8 MW, which will be provided by the Danish company VESTAS, a worldwide supplier of wind turbines, as announced by Vestas Mediterranean on December 28, 2012. The Mexican retailer Organización Soriana will purchase the electricity produced by the wind farm through a long-term power purchase agreement, in order to actively contribute to the development of renewable and sustainable energy, while at the same time reducing its energy costs by purchasing the electricity generated by CETSA through a self-supply structure.
“This electricity will be used by Soriana to supply 163 stores throughout Mexico, which represents the displacement of 100,00 tons of carbon dioxide a year, equivalent to taking 29,000 cars a year out of circulation,” stated Aurelio Adán Hernández, Soriana Chief Financial Officer. “Construction is scheduled to begin during the first quarter of this year
and is estimated to cost more than US$130 million.”
With respect to the financing, NADB and BANORTE through a bank consortium are providing a loan to CETSA through a project finance mechanism for the construction of what will be the first wind farm in the state of Tamaulipas.
“This is the first wind energy project in Mexico to be funded by NADB,” stated NADB Managing Director Gerónimo Gutiérrez, referring to the US$51 million loan provided by the bilateral financial institution for the project. “It’s an example of the joint efforts of the public and private sectors to implement clean energy projects, as well as supports the efforts of the State of Tamaulipas and the Mexican Government to combat climate change.”
Tamaulipas Governor Egidio Torre Cantú indicated that “El Porvenir reflects the potential for developing wind energy projects in Tamaulipas, as well as his Administration’s commitment to promoting investment in the state, to the environment and to the development of sustainable infrastructure.”
For his part, Adrian Katzew Corenstein, Vice President and General Manager of Vestas Mexico & Caribbean said “This project demonstrates our dedication to Mexico and Vestas’ commitment to continue playing a leading role in the diversification and sustainability of the country’s energy mix.”
Environmental benefits related to this project include the displacement of over 90,976 metric tons of carbon dioxide (CO2), 1,442.4 metric tons of sulfur dioxide (SO2) and 189.7metric tons of nitrogen oxides (NOx) per year. The project was certified by the Border Environment Cooperation Commission (BECC) in February 2012.
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