September 2018
Written by Ivan Suarez, Portfolio Manager – Americas, Energy Council

The top headlines from September 2018 from the Latin America Clean Energy sector. Please contact Ivan Suarez if any specific topic is of particular interest to you so that he can tailor the news feed. 

Business

• AySA communicated it is looking into procuring renewable energy. The company's initial proposal is to contract 10 Mw of power over 10 years. AySA will consider offers submitted for blocks of 20, 30, 40, 50 and 60 Mw under contracts of 2, 5, 15 and 20 years
• Nordex closed a deal to provide wind turbines for AES 99 Mw wind farm (Energetica)

Auctions

• The Secretariat of Energy (former Ministry of Energy and Mines) announced that the next renewables tender will take place in October 2018. In this tender, 350 Mw capacity will be shared amongst the most competitive wind and solar submissions

Politics

• CAMMESA – the country's wholesale electric market management company, assigned priority dispatch to 364 Mw of wind and solar projects
• The Government of Argentina announced its fiscal plan to balance its budget before receiving USD50 billion from IMF. The announced taxes on exports will negatively affect the planned gas exports to Chile

Business

• Equinor made public its intention to make Brazil’s energy sector an area of focus for the upcoming years. To date, the company has already invested USD10 billion in the country
• GE Power closed the provision of inverters for Construtora Quebec Partners power plant in Brazil. The total capacity will be 20.6Mw across three of its power plants
• Rio Alto Energia finalized its solar PV complex in Coremas (Paraiba) which consists of 10 plants (300Mw)
• Shell communicated that Brazil is on its global top 20 – Energy Transition target. In August, the company already communicated it was tempted to participate in wind and solar auctions in Brazil
• Enel told the press that it has lost its appetite for further acquisitions in Brazil. Towards the end of 2018, the Italian energy major will complete sales of assets for a value of USD1.3 billion
• EDPR secured a 20-year PPA for two of its wind farm projects in Brazil (430Mw in total)
• CPFL Energias Renovaveis announced it had contracted a total of  97.3Mw (wind and hydropower) following Brazil’s A-6 tender
• AES concluded the acquisition of a 150Mw PV complex (Solar Guaimbe Complex) from Cobra. The adjusted  (final) value of the transaction was USD146 million
• Omega Energia closed its acquisition of a 50% stake in Pirapora solar complex (30% from EDF and 20% from Canadian Solar)

Investment

• CEEE-GT made public that it is seeking investors for a 52.5Mw wind complex awarded back in 2013. When funded, the project will increase CEEE’s installed capacity up to 1,300Mw
• Santander announced that the bank will offer local customers a financing line for small-to-mid-sized solar projects. The aim is to cover the distributed generation (DG) sector that is currently growing in the country
• IDB guaranteed its first bond in BRL: Actis sponsors the receiving 207Mw wind farm (Santa Vitoria do Palmar). This opportunity opens Brazil’s wind sector to new capital-market investors

Politics

• Eletrobras may cut workforce by 3,000 this year

Business

• Gran Solar plugged 35.4Mw of solar into Mexico’s electricity system: the project (Energia Limpia de la Laguna, Durango) was funded by Balam Capital
• Mexican Bimbo – the world’s largest baking company, announced it will pledge to 100% renewable energy by 2025
• Enel announced the completion of a 828Mw project (Villanueva project)
• ATCO announced that it will enter Mexico’s wholesale electricity market after receiving approval from CENACE
• Everlert entered into an agreement to acquire a 40% stake of Baja Green Energy. Everlet plans to build and operate green energy plants across the central American country
• Canadian Solar and Natixis finalized the closure of a USD45 million deal for a solar power project in Aguascalientes (68 Mw)

Investment

• Macquarie Infrastructure and Real Assets (MIRA) revealed that they acquired a 90% stake in a 322Mw solar power generation portfolio, while the remaining 10% is held by Eosol
• Bancomext agreed to provide USD85 million of long-term financing for Atlas Renewable Energy’s Guajiro solar plant – there is already an existing PPA attached to this project
• IDB announced that it aims to provide USD109 million for the expansion of Geothermal generation in Mexico. The expectation is to increase the share of Geothermal in Mexico’s energy mix by 300Mw within the next 10 years

Politics

• Both the transmission line tender (700km in Baja California) and the natural gas storage tender planned for September were rescheduled to be held this October

Colombia

• President Ivan Duque communicated a target of 1.5Gw of renewable energy before the end of his four-year term (2022). The Colombian Ministry of Mines and Energy announced that up to 1GW of renewable energy generation capacity may be allocated from solar, wind and biomass projects exceeding 10MW

Chile

• LATAM Airlines signed an agreement with Acciona for the supply of renewable electricity: 80% of total electricity consumption

 

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