ImpactAlpha, April 30 – The loan, to Spanish utility Iberdrola’s Mexican subsidiary, will be used to refinance three wind farm developments in the state of Oaxaca. The five-year loan can be extended by two years and was syndicated by BBVA with nine other unnamed banks. “This is a pioneering deal,” a spokeswoman for Iberdrola told ImpactAlpha by email.
- Capitalizing on wind… Mexico is going through a clean energy boom, with 4-gigawatts of installed wind capacity already in place and another 1.1-gigawatts projected for 2018.
- Impact watch… While key to sustainable energy generation, wind farm development can also displace local populations, as Morgan Simon, managing director at the Candide Group and founder of Transform Finance cited in a Returns on Investment podcast.
- Community involvement… An Iberdrola spokeswoman said the company performs careful assessments on the placement of wind turbines and gets local buy-in before starting construction. “Projects are presented to government representatives and to the community to resolve any doubts that may arise,” she said.
