Colombia – Enel lands solar financing

By Nic Stone

Enel Colombia will shortly receive a US$200m disbursement from the Colombian peso-denominated credit facility signed with the European Investment Bank to finance construction of its 200MW Guayepo III and 199.5MW Atlantico solar projects in the department of Atlantico. The group got its first US$100m disbursement in July from the US$300m deal agreed in June, which was guaranteed by Italian export credit agency Sace.

The local currency loan uses a synthetic product that neutralises exchange rate risks. The 10-year loan has semi-annual interest payments and an amortisation schedule under which 2.5% of the disbursed amount is repaid from years one to eight, with the remaining 40% due in years nine and 10. Once fully operational, Guayepo III and Atlantico will produce around 548GWh and 529GWh of clean energy per year, respectively.