Total Eren, KFW, DEG, FMO and KFW IPEX agree on non-recourse project financing for the wind energy project “Vientos Los Hércules”.
PRESS RELEASE
Buenos Aires, January 4th, 2018. On December 18th, the French renewable energy group Total Eren announced the closing of an agreement with the international banks KfW, DEG and FMO for the financing of the “Vientos Los Hércules” wind project, worth up to US$166,999,544.44.
Vientos Los Hércules S.A. was awarded a Power Purchase Agreement under the Argentine official RenovAr Program (Round 1). The company will use the loan proceeds to build a wind farm in the province of Santa Cruz, Argentina, with a nominal capacity of 97,2 MW, consisting of 27 wind turbines with a nominal capacity of 3.6 MW each, to be supplied by Senvion.
KfW IPEX Bank and DEG arranged the financing with the features and guarantees of a non-recourse project finance, combining two credit lines: a 16-year loan as an export credit facility granted by KfW IPEX-Bank and guaranteed by Euler Hermes through a comprehensive political and commercial export credit insurance; and a 15-year parallel credit facility provided by the German development bank DEG and the Dutch development bank FMO. KfW IPEX Bank acts as administrative agent and offshore collateral agent, while Citibank, N.A. Argentine branch, acts as trustee and local collateral agent. Astrid Finance, based in Washington DC, assisted Total Eren in the financing structuring and negotiation.
The commercial authorization date for the project, which is expected to generate around 400 GWh per year, is estimated for the first quarter of 2019.
Counsel to Vientos Los Hércules
In Argentina
• Beccar Varela: team led by partner Roberto A. Fortunati, assisted by senior associates Daniel Levi and Nicolás Rukavina Mikusic. Partner Santiago Montezanti led the tax team, also comprised of senior associates Fernando Botello and Enrique Lopez Rivarola.
• In-house counsels Thierry Clementz, Grietje van de Wiel and Matías Borderes.
In Germany
• CMS: team composed of partner Marc Riede and senior associate Julia Runge.
Counsel to the banks
In Argentina
• Bruchou, Fernández Madero & Lombardi: team led by partner José María Bazán, assisted by associates Juan Barros Moss and Cristian Ragucci. Partner Ignacio Minorini Lima and associate Eliana Hougassian advised on regulatory matters, while associates Daniela Rey, Pablo Muir and Cecilia Tononi advised on tax issues.
In Germany
• Watson Farley & Williams LLP: team composed of partner Stefan Kilgus, senior associate Pascal Unger and associate Vivien Vacha.
Counsel to the trustee and to the local collateral agent
• Tanoira Cassagne Abogados: team composed of partner Alexia Rosenthal and associate Ignacio Criado Diaz.
• In-house counsels Carlos María Vassallo and Cecilia Diaz Llamosas.