EDF Renewables and Canadian Solar secure US$373 M financing on Pirapora solar

EDF Renewables and Canadian Solar Inc. announced has successfully raised a total of BRL1.39 B Brazilian(US$ 373 M) via multiple project finance sources for their jointly-owned 399 MWp Pirapora solar complex in Brazil.

EDF Renewables owns 80% of the complex while Canadian Solar owns the remaining 20% stake.

The 191.5 MWp Pirapora I solar power project raised BRL220 M (US$ 59 M) of infrastructure debentures through private placement to accredited institutional investors. The debentures have a tenor of 16 years and are guaranteed by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and IDB Invest, the private sector arm of the IDB Group. Fitch Ratings assigned the debentures ratings of A+ (Global) and AAA (Brazil), with stable outlook.

Proceeds of this issuance will be used to repay a construction bridge loan provided by IDB. As previously announced on August 7, 2017, the project also received an 18-year financing from the Brazilian Development Bank (BNDES) in the amount of 529 M Brazilian reais (US$ 142 M). This structure is the result of an innovative partnership between BNDES and IDB, which could stimulate the financing of other renewable energy projects in the country.

In addition, the 115 MWp Pirapora II solar power project closed long-term project financing of BRL366 M (US$ 99 M) from Banco do Nordeste and the Northeast Constitutional Fund.

Adjacent 92.5 MWp Pirapora III solar power project has secured long-term project financing of 271 M Brazilian reais (US$ 73 M) from BNDES and the Brazilian National Climate Fund.

The Pirapora projects, operational since mid-2018, are among the largest solar complexes in the Latin America region. The three plants are powered by approximately 1,235,000 high-efficiency CS6U-P modules manufactured by Canadian Solar in Sao Paulo State, Brazil. Solar energy generated from these projects are fully contracted with 20-year inflation-linked power purchase agreements.