Acciona Energy has closed the long-term financing of the 56.1-MW Tuppadahalli wind farm that it is building in Karnataka state (south-west India) with Infrastructure Development Finance Company Limited (IDFC), a leading Indian infrastructure finance company. The agreement has been completed in three months, a record for this type of operation.
The financing is structured through the project finance modality for a sum of 2,000 million rupees (33.3 million euros at the current exchange rate), which represents around 60% of the total investment in the project. The amortization period has been set at 14 years, one of the longest ever granted in India for project finance in the wind power sector.
The first installment of the loan (8.8 million euros) was authorized by IDFC the day after the signature of the agreement last 14th December.
"Willing to partner with Acciona"
Glen Reccani, Managing Director of Acciona Energy India Pvt. Ltd. said that "India is one of the strategic growth countries for Acciona Energy. Its stable regulatory climate is very conducive to investments in renewable energy. The lenders in India appreciate the expertise Acciona brings in chosing quality renewable projects. They are willing to partner with us in providing long term project financing. We are pleased to have IDFC involved with our Tuppadahalli project and appreciate their efforts in closing the financing in a short period of time. We hope this will be the first of a long lasting relationship".
Talking on this transaction, Mr Vinayak Mavinkurve, Group Head, Project Finance of IDFC said, "IDFC is into financing renewable energy projects in a big way -wind, hydel, and looking at solar as well-. This association is a culmination of a deep understanding that IDFC developed about the strategic intent of Acciona Energy and marks a beginning of a long term relationship for IDFC. A pure play renewable energy company is always of interest to IDFC and Acciona Energy readily fits into that segment for us".
First Spanish wind power developer in India
Tuppadahalli is Acciona Energy’s third wind farm in India, and will raise its capacity in the country to 85.8 MW. Construction work on this project began in October 2010 and it will enter service in 2011.
Located in the state of Karnataka, the wind farm will have thirty-four 1.650 kW wind turbines and its production will avoid the emission of 127,000 metric tons a year of CO2 to the atmosphere from conventional coal-fired power plants in the state.
Tuppadahalli joins Arasinagundi (13.2 MW), installed in 2007, and Anabaru (16.5 MW), built in 2008. All three wind farms are 100% owned by Acciona and the other two are also located in Karnataka.
Acciona Energy is the first Spanish developer with owned wind farms in India. Its subsidiary company has its offices in Bangalore.
CDM project
As was the case of the earlier wind farms built in India, the company aims to include the Tuppadahalli project under the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) scheme envisaged in the Kyoto Protocol.
Once registered as a CDM project, the emission reduction certificates (CERs) generated by the wind farm may allow the company to increase the financial leverage arising from the recently agreed operation.
CDM is one of the flexibility mechanisms included in the Kyoto Protocol for emission reduction. The aim is that public or private entities should carry out projects in developing countries that contribute to their sustainable development and an overall reduction in greenhouse gas emissions.
Companies or developers under the scheme receive CERs, which can then be traded on in industrialized countries to ensure compliance with commitments acquired in the area of emission reductions.
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