Cleary Gottlieb represented Petroquímica Comodoro Rivadavia S.A. (PCR), an Argentine energy company, in connection with the $108 million secured project financing for the construction, operation, and maintenance of Parque Eólico del Bicentenario, a 125.2 MWac wind farm in the Province of Santa Cruz, Argentina.
The borrower under the financing is Parque Eólico del Bicentenario S.A. (PEBSA), a wholly-owned subsidiary of PCR. PEBSA will sell the electricity generated by the project to the Compañia Administradora del Mercado Mayorista Électrico S.A. pursuant to a long-term power purchase agreement awarded under Argentina’s renewable energy auction program (RenovAr). Through RenovAr, which was launched by the Ministry of Energy in 2017, Argentina is targeting to produce 20 percent of its electricity from renewable sources by 2025.
The financing is secured by all assets of the project and is being provided by the Inter-American Investment Corporation, on its own behalf, and KFW, participating as co-lender and an agent for EKF, Denmark’s Export Credit Agency. PCR is guaranteeing PEBSA’s repayment of the loans through completion of the project. The financing agreements were signed on October 12, 2018. The transaction closed and the financing was disbursed on December 4, 2018.
PCR is an Argentine energy company with over 95 years of experience across the energy and construction sectors, including in the exploration and production of oil and gas and production and distribution of cement and other construction materials.