[China Co-Financing Fund] IDB administers 19.3 Million USD loan from CHC for the Casablanca and Giacote Solar PV Project

On 22 November 2016, the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) signed a loan contract with Sky Solar and Lafemir S.A. to finance the Casablanca and Giacote Solar PV Project, through which the IDB would provide 55.7 million USD from its ordinary capital (Loan 3500A/OC-UR-1, Loan 3500A/OC-UR-2), the People's Bank of China would provide 19.3 million USD (Loan 3500/CH-UR-1, Loan 3500/CH-UR-2) via the China Co-Financing Fund for Latin America and the Caribbean (CHC), and an additional 10 million USD would be provided by the Canada Climate Fund for the Private Sector in the Americas (C2F) (Loan 3500/CA-UR). The IDB would also administer a B loan (Loan 3500B/OC-UR-1-US-FITCPIB, Loan 3500B/OC-UR-2-US-FITCPIB), which would be financed by another commercial bank or financial institution. The IDB lists the total anticipated project cost as 139,220,000 USD, with an expected 54,220,000 USD of counterpart financing. The IDB approved this loan financing on 7 July 2015, and it refers to this project as "UR-L1100 : Casablanca and Giacote Solar PV Project". The loan recipients listed in the approval document were Giacote S.A., Raditon S.A., Dicano S.A., Fenima S.A. and Petilocoran S.A. The project sponsors would be Sky Solar and Lafemir S.A. The project consists of solar plants located in the departments of Paysandú, Salto and Río Negro in northwestern Uruguay. The plants include Raditon (8MW, Paysandú), Fenima (9.5MW, Paysandú), Dicano (11.25MW, Paysandú), Petilcoran (9.5MW, Paysandú), Menafra Solar (20 MW, Río Negro), and Arapey Solar (10 MW, Salto). Construction on the plants began in November 2016. The expected end date of the project was June 2017. As of 2 August 2020, according to implementing agency Tecnogroup, all photovoltaic projects are still under construction. With a total installed capacity of 69.9MW the project will supply an average of 125.4 GWh of electricity per year to the national grid, helping to diversify Uruguay’s energy matrix and eliminating approximately 74,000 tons per year of CO2 emissions. The photovoltaic panels will be mounted over fixed steel structures expected to be provided locally through a joint venture between Lafemir S.A. and an industry-leading manufacturer. Resources will also be used to support the implementation of a climate change education initiative that will encourage young people to use their creativity and energy to come up with feasible, sustainable, long-term strategies to mitigate climate change. The “Rise Up” initiative will start in three rural primary schools in the department of Paysandú. According to ProQuest, the project was completed 12/31/2017. The China Co-Financing Fund was established on 14 January 2013 with a contribution of 2 billion USD by the People's Bank of China, and it is administered by the IDB. For more information, see umbrella project ID #86526.

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