AsiaNet 90428

DUBLIN and SANTIAGO, Chile, July 1, 2021 /PRNewswire=KYODO JBN/ --

Global wind and solar company, Mainstream Renewable Power ("Mainstream" or "The

Company"), has achieved financial close for the third and final phase of its

"Andes Renovables" wind and solar platform in Chile. The c. US$182 million in

debt raised will be used to build the "Copihue" phase which consists of one

wind farm, named Caman, located in central Chile.

The project, which will commence operations in 2022, initially had an installed

capacity of 100 MW but has since increased to 148.5 MW following the signing of

an additional long-term, bilateral Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with a

strategic partner.

The senior debt financing comes from KfW IPEX-Bank, DNB, CaixaBank and the VAT

financing comes from Scotiabank Chile.

With the financial close announced today, Mainstream completes an investment of

more than US$1.8 billion to build its entire Andes Renovables platform, which

is expected to be fully operational by 2022 and will provide around 20% of

power for regulated customers in Chile using renewable energy.

Sacyr will be the Balance of Plant contractor for the Caman wind farm and they

will carry out the electrical connection works. The main transformer will be

supplied by ABB.    

Mary Quaney, Mainstream's Group Chief Executive said:

"Net zero commitments across the world require systemic decarbonisation of

power – our presence and work with partners in both mature and emerging markets

demonstrates the scalability and success of our project development model to

support this transition.

"Andes Renovables is one of the largest renewable energy platforms in Latin

America which will have an installed capacity of 1.35 GW of clean energy,

generating around 3,100 jobs during its construction.

"It showcases our industry-leading expertise in structuring hybrid projects

with the combination of ten wind and solar generation profiles in order to meet

our commitments to deliver firm power at scale over a twenty-year period.

"It reflects our commitment to, and experience in Chile, which is one of the

world's most progressive renewable energy markets, and further solidifies our

leadership position in-country, where we will soon be supplying the equivalent

of one in five Chilean homes with power from our facilities."

Manuel Tagle, Mainstream's General Manager for Latin America said:

"Andes Renovables will power the equivalent of more than 1.7 million Chilean

homes and avoid the emission of more than 1.6 million tonnes of CO2 per annum,

the same as that produced by approximately 350,000 cars each year. The ten wind

and solar farms that make up the platform are located between the regions of

Antofagasta and Los Lagos. It is precisely this geographical and technological

diversification that will allow for a more secure and constant electricity

supply.

"We are pleased to have increased the Copihue portfolio size by 50% by adding a

bilateral PPA in addition to the existing regulated PPA, which demonstrates our

standing in the market.  

"And it doesn't stop there. We are using our platform in renewables and

experience as a market leader to pioneer new developments in emerging

technologies to complement existing capacity and ensure we are on the cutting

edge of cleantech. In parallel to the Andes Renovables platform we are also

investing in a new large-scale renewable platform, Nazca Renovables, and in the

last few months we have signed four new energy supply contracts with private

customers. We look forward to sharing more updates on both portfolios as they

progress through development."

Notes to Editors:

About 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.

Andes Renovables Projects

Contact:

Emmet Curley, Head of Communications & Positioning

Phone: +353 86 2411 690

Email: emmet.curley@mainstreamrp.com  

Caroline Cutlet | Ojasvi Goel, FTI Consulting

Phone: +44 20 3727 1000

Email: mainstreamRP@fticonsulting.com

About Mainstream

Mainstream Renewable Power is a leading pure-play renewable energy company with

a global footprint. The company is focused on expanding its high-quality

pipeline of more than 13 Gigawatts (GW) of wind and solar assets across Latin

America, Africa, Asia Pacific as well as the global offshore wind sector. In

May 2021, it closed an agreement for Aker Horizons to take a 75% equity stake

in the company, enabling Mainstream to accelerate its global expansion plan to

bring 5.5 GW of assets to financial close by 2023 ahead of a planned IPO.

Mainstream has delivered more than 6.5 GW of wind and solar assets to financial

close, and currently has over 1.4 GW (net) in construction across Latin America

and Africa. In Chile, Mainstream's wholly-owned 1.35 GW of fully contracted

wind and solar assets are on track to reach commercial operation from 2021. In

Africa, the company has delivered 842 MW of wind and solar assets into

commercial operation in South Africa, and further, through its Lekela Power

joint venture has 410 MW of wind assets in construction in Senegal and Egypt.

Mainstream is the most successful independent developer of offshore wind at

scale globally.  It has successfully consented Hornsea One (1.2 GW), the

largest operational offshore wind plant in the world today; and developed the

Hornsea 2 project (1.4 GW)  before selling these projects and the entire Zone

in 2015. Overall, it has developed and later divested projects representing 22%

of the UK's offshore wind capacity either in operation or under construction.  

Mainstream fully consented the Neart na Gaoithe offshore wind project in

Scotland, 450 MW, currently under construction. Mainstream's Soc Trang 1.4 GW

offshore wind development in Vietnam is one of South East Asia's largest

renewable energy developments.

Mainstream has raised more than EUR3.0bn in project finance to date and employs

more than 340 staff across five continents.

www.mainstreamrp.com

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SOURCE: Mainstream Renewable Power