MPC Energy Solutions announces the start of operations for its solar plants in El Salvador

MPC Energy Solutions release

Amsterdam/Oslo – 6 February 2023 – MPC Energy Solutions (MPCES) has announced the start of operations for its Santa Rosa and Villa Sol solar photovoltaic (PV) plants in El Salvador, which have a combined installed capacity of 21.3 MW. Santa Rosa and Villa Sol are the third and fourth projects in the Company's portfolio to start operations, following Los Santos I (Mexico), which was acquired in February 2022, and Neol CHP (Puerto Rico), which started delivering energy in January this year.

The plants commenced operations and MPC Energy Solutions is now selling the generated energy through a 20-year USD-denominated power purchase agreement (PPA) with CAESS, the local subsidiary of US-based energy company AES Corporation. Santa Rosa and Villa Sol are in El Salvador's Quezaltepeque region and will generate a combined 45.7 GWh of solar energy in the first year, with a projected annual revenue of around USD 4.4 million. The projects’ solar power offers substantial environmental benefits, preventing nearly 11,000 tons of CO₂ emissions per year.

Total investment costs were USD 24.5 million, of which Banco Agrícola, a 100% subsidiary of Bancolombia, provided USD 18.3 million of project financing under a 15-year amortizing agreement. Enerland Group acted as engineering and construction (E&C) contractor. MPC Energy Solutions provided construction management services and also directly sourced key components, including inverters from Huawei and solar panels from Canadian Solar.

Luis Marquez, Head of Construction of MPC Energy Solutions, said: “We are excited to see our Santa Rosa and Villa Sol solar PV plants complete construction and come online just 12 months after financial close. These activations were finalised fully within our established budget, a significant achievement for all parties involved.”

“We deeply appreciate the local support that we received during the development and construction phase. The government, local authorities and the communities are incredibly supportive and dedicated to these projects,” said Fernando Zúñiga, Managing Director for Latin America of MPC Energy Solutions. “We are committed to further contributing towards El Salvador’s renewable energy transition and continue to evaluate further investments in the country.”

Through the commissioning of these solar parks, MPCES has once again successfully demonstrated its ability to develop, finance, build, and operate assets as a full-cycle Independent Power Producer (IPP).