Agricultural Bank of China provides $59 million loan for 55MW Penonomé I Wind Power Project

Project narrative

In 2013, the Agricultural Bank of China and UEP Penonomé I, S.A — a special purpose vehicle — signed a $59,096,700 loan agreement for the 55MW Penonomé I Wind Power Project. The loan’s final maturity date is 2025. The purpose of the project was to install 22 wind turbines with 55MW of capacity. The project also involved the construction of a shared substation facility. The wind turbines are spaced 200 meters apart from one another in a series of rows and have a tower height of 90 meters and a rotor blade diameter of 52.2 meters extending from the hub (nacelle). The project site is located in province of Coclé. It is adjacent to the Pan-American Highway and the national electric grid, which minimized the need for opening new rights-of-way and land acquisition in the area. Power is evacuated through two existing 230 kV transmission lines of the Central American Electrical Inter-Connection Transmission System (SIEPAC) managed by the Electric Transmission Company of Panama (ETESA). Xinjiang Goldwind Technology Co., Ltd. was the contractor responsible for implementation. The precise implementation start date is unknown. However, it is known that the wind farm was completed and went into operation in 2013. On April 28, 2020, AES Panamá acquired 100% of the participation quotas of UEP Penonomé I. Then, on June 19, 2020, AES Panamá and UEP Penonomé I entered into a merger agreement where AES Panamá absorbed UEP Penonomé. This merger agreement was registered in the mercantile registry of Panama City on June 23, 2020.