The IDB grants 125 million dollars to decarbonize Chile

The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), through IDB Invest, granted a financial package of 125 million dollars to Engie’s Chilean subsidiary to accelerate the decarbonization of the electricity company in the Andean country.

As reported by the agency in a statement, the funds have a term of up to 12 years and will be used to build, operate and maintain the Calama wind farm, with an installed capacity of approximately 151 megawatts (MW), which will be located near the city of Calama, in the Antofagasta Region.

The action is part of Engie’s energy transformation plan, which, in addition to the successive closure of its coal units, foresees the development of more than 1,000 MW of wind and solar initiatives in Chile in the coming years.

The operation has been structured through a pilot financial instrument that will monetize the real displacement of greenhouse gas emissions avoided by the early closure of coal-fired thermoelectric plants and replaced by clean technology projects. The agreement to develop this instrument was announced during the United Nations Conference on Climate Change in 2019.

Specifically, the financial item consists of a first loan of 74 million dollars, 15 million dollars from mixed financing from the Clean Technology Fund and another 36 million dollars from the Chinese Fund for Co-financing in Latin America and the Caribbean.

K. Tovar

Source: dpa