Enel secures financing for 1 GW solar projects in Mexico

The European Investment Bank (EIB) has announced that it has signed an US$87 million loan to part-finance three photovoltaic (PV) solar power plants in Mexico, with a total installed capacity of 1,088 MWp.

The plants are operated and 20% owned by Enel’s global renewable energy business line Enel Green Power and 80%-owned by institutional investors Caisse de dépot et placement du Québec and CKD Infraestructura México.

BBVA Bancomer, CaixaBank, Natixis, MUFG Bank, IDB Invest, the private sector institution of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) Group, and Mexican development institution Banca Nacional de Comercio Exterior (Bancomext) have also provided financing.

The EIB has not disclosed the names of the plants benefiting from the financing, besides the 828 MW Villanueva project, located in the municipality of Viesca in Coahuila. Connected to the grid in September this year, it is the largest solar project in the Americas.

The only information given about the other power plants included in the financing transaction is that they are located in Guanajuato and Coahuila States, in central and northern Mexico, respectively.

EIB's contribution to the project is funded under the Climate Action and Environment Facility (CAEF).

The transaction supports Mexico’s national target for renewable energy, one of the most ambitious worldwide (35% by 2024 and around 50% by 2050). The solar power plants contribute to the country's goal of increasing the installed capacity of non-conventional renewable energy and diversifying the national energy matrix.