Mainstream closes Phase 2 of US$1.8bn Andes Renovables financing

• US$620m secured from a consortium of five banks for 630 MW of wind and solar assets
• One of the largest renewable energy debt financing deals undertaken in the world this year
• Deal underlines Mainstream’s commitment to renewable power build-out in Chile and its track record in delivering gigawatt-scale renewable energy platforms
• Full 1.3 GW Andes Renovables platform continues to make excellent progress despite COVID-19 impact due to strict internal safety protocols

Global wind and solar development company, Mainstream Renewable Power has reached financial close for the second phase of its wholly-owned and fully-contracted 1.3 gigawatt “Andes Renovables” wind and solar power generation platform in Chile.

The Company has successfully raised US$620 million in debt to fund construction of phase two of what is one of Latin American’s biggest wind and solar generation platforms. This brings to US$1.25bn raised to date by the Andes Renovables platform.

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 next and final phase, “Copihue”, is comprised of one further wind asset with a 100 MW capacity and is on track to reach financial close in H1 2021.

Vestas, Nordex Group and Siemens Gamesa are supplying the wind turbines and the wind farm assets will be built by Sacyr Industrial, SEMI and Elecnor. The 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.

Manuel Tagle, Mainstream’s General Manager for Latin America, said: “This latest milestone comes as we are making excellent progress on the construction of the first phase of the platform and I have been delighted by the response of our teams on the ground to the challenging conditions that the pandemic has created.

“The economic and environmental impact of the platform is very significant and with a development pipeline of 2.7 gigawatts of wind and solar assets in addition to the Andes Renovables platform, Mainstream remains committed to making an even greater contribution to Chile for the foreseeable future.”

Mainstream Renewable Power in Chile

In 2016, Mainstream was the biggest winner in Chile’s largest ever technology-neutral electricity auction, taking 27% of the total allocated capacity. Chile’s National Energy Commission awarded Mainstream a 20-year index-linked, US dollar denominated contract, to supply 3,366 Gigawatt Hours of firm power starting in 2021.

Mainstream has also delivered an additional 332 MW of wind generation in Chile via the Aela Platform with its joint venture partner Actis, delivering its first wind farm into commercial operation in 2014.

Mainstream has an additional 2,700 MW of wind and solar PV generation assets under development in Chile.