AWS Truepower, a renewable energy consulting and engineering services company, has been hired to act as Independent Engineer to support the financing and construction of the Ventika I & Ventika II wind projects in Nuevo León, Mexico. The Ventika Wind Project consists of two 126 MW wind projects, for a total capacity of 252 MW, making it the largest wind project in Mexico at the time of financing.
AWS Truepower provided lender support to Banco Santander (Administrative Agent), North American Development Bank, Banco Nacional de Obras y Servicios Públicos (Banobras), Nacional Financiera (Nafin), and Banco Nacional de Comercio Exterior (Bancomext). The total investment for the projects is $650M, secured by co-developers CEMEX and Fisterra Energy.
AWS Truepower acted as the energy consultant and engineer in the debt financing for the project, and is providing construction monitoring on behalf of the lenders and project sponsors through to substantial completion of the projects, expected in the second quarter of 2016. The Ventika I and Ventika II projects will use 84 Acciona AW 3000 wind turbines, and is a significant advancement in achieving Mexico’s goal of 35% total energy generation from renewable sources and reducing CO2 emissions world-wide.
“The Ventika I and II projects are a major advancement in the development of wind energy in Mexico and Latin America, and also are a great example of the growing momentum of wind projects globally,” stated Joan Aymamí, Vice President, Latin America at AWS Truepower.
“The company is committed to supporting renewable energy growth in Latin America, and will continue to invest in Mexico and other LATAM regions that are equally as committed to reducing carbon emissions and providing a sustainable source of energy for their country,” added Craig Moller, Director of Due Diligence Services at the company.
The majority interest of the project was acquired from a subsidiary of CEMEX (NYSE: CX). The investment for the project is approximately $650 million, of which 75% corresponds to debt and 25% to equity. The total joint commitment from Lenders is in excess of $480 million, and Fisterra (subsidiary of Blackstone Energy Partners), CEMEX, and private investors contributed $162 million to the project via equity contributions and shareholder loans. Construction began in Q2 2014 and commercial operation is expected by the Q2 2016.
AWS Truepower:
awstruepower.com.
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