Ecoener, Spanish renewable energy multinational, has succeeded in receiving financial support from Proparco, the French Development Finance Institution, to deploy its renewable energy operations in the Dominican Republic. As part of its mission to support companies that promote sustainable development, the subsidiary of the Agence Française de Développement Group (AFD Group) has granted a $43.1 million (€41 million) loan to Ecoener to finance the Payita 1 photovoltaic plant, which is being developed following the highest ESG standards with the aim of creating a positive impact on local communities.
The Payita 1 project in the province of María Trinidad Sánchez, in the northern part of the country, meets the highly demanding sustainability performance standards of the International Finance Corporation (IFC), after an exhaustive due diligence process. These international guidelines ensure that projects are sustainable by identifying their environmental and social impacts, risks and opportunities, while also guaranteeing their correct management and mitigation. Proparco has also assessed the quality of the construction and technology used by Ecoener.
Proparco’s support will enable Ecoener to make further progress in its strategy to become one of the main renewable energy providers in the Dominican Republic, contributing towards the country’s energy independence and decarbonisation and to national economic and social development.
The solar plant has an installed capacity of 60 MW and has secured $142 million in revenue over the next 15 years thanks to the PPA (long-term power purchase agreement) signed with Edenorte, one of the largest energy sale and distribution companies in the Dominican Republic. The Finance Project will enable Ecoener to further strengthen its solid financial base with a new long-term loan.
The Dominican Republic is on its way to becoming Ecoener’s first market with the start of operations of the Payita 1 & 2 and the Cumayasa 4 photovoltaic solar plants this year, which will be added to the two that are already running. The total installed capacity of the facilities will reach almost 280 MW.
“We would like to thank Proparco for their trust in us. It shows Ecoener’s capacity to develop fully sustainable projects that meet the highest international social and environmental standards”, commented Luis de Valdivia, Ecoener’s Chairman.
For Anne Gautier, Head of Power and Digital, Asia & Latin America at Proparco, “Proparco is pleased to enter into a partnership with Ecoener, a leading European player in the field of renewable energy. The development of this solar photovoltaic power plant in the Dominican Republic meets the government’s ambitious goal of increasing the share of electricity production from renewable energy in the country, while improving access to clean, reliable and affordable electricity for Dominicans.”
Payita 1 has an expected production level of 118.4 GWh, a volume equivalent to the consumption required by 29,600 households. The clean energy produced by the plant will prevent yearly emissions of 64,173 tonnes of CO2 into the atmosphere and the consumption of 10,182 tonnes of fossil fuels.
