MIAMI – Atlas Renewable Energy, an international renewable energy developer, was awarded IJGlobal’s 2020 Latin America Sponsor of the Year Award on Tuesday, June 29, for the company’s contributions to accelerating the region’s transformation to clean energy. The company was also awarded Latin America Solar Deal of the Year Award for its Ananuca Financial Deal, which refinanced the Javiera Solar Plant (69.5MW) and financed the construction of the Sol del Desierto Solar Project (230MW) in Chile.
Since the company was founded back in 2017, Atlas Renewable Energy continues to innovate to find the best financial structures for its clients, while always keeping its promise of conducting business in a responsible manner. Most recently, the company was also awarded Latin America Sponsor of the Year and Latin America Solar Deal of the Year by Proximo Infra Awards for Atlas’ New Juazeiro Financial Deal.
Latin America Solar Deal of the Year
The Ananuca Solar Deal in Chile was the largest solar bond in Latin America at the time of signing. With a unique structure, the deal combined the financing of the construction of a new solar project (Sol del Desierto) and the refinancing of an existing operating plant (Javiera). The two solar PV generation assets have been combined under a single financing portfolio providing investors with key structural benefits and synergies of cross-collateralized assets and cross-guaranteed cash flows.
The 253-million-dollar financing was secured through DNB Markets, which acted as Sole Lead Placement Agent for the notes, under a US Private Placement (USPP) in Green Bond format. The bond was issued under Atlas Renewable Energy’s Green Finance Framework, which is aligned with 2018 versions of the ICMA Green Bond Principles and the LMA Green Loan Principles. This framework recognizes and attests to the company’s commitment to developing projects that protect and preserve the environment while adhering to the highest standards of environmental engagement.
“We are honored to have been awarded solar deal of the year for our Ananuca Deal. This pioneering deal structure provided new avenues for solar financing in the region and furthers Atlas’ innovative approach to project financing working alongside DNB Markets. I’d also like to recognize the support and dedication that DNB Markets has shown to the renewable energy sector in advancing Latin America’s energy transformation,” said Michael Shea, Head of Structured Finance at Atlas Renewable Energy. “This award validates our efforts to continue finding the best financial solutions to advance our projects competitiveness in the market.”
Latin America Sponsor of the Year
The company was awarded Latin America Sponsor of the Year for its rapid growth in the region and its innovative approach to designing financial structures alongside high caliber institutions that facilitate renewable energy adoption by large energy consumers in the Americas.
In just 2020, the company signed three major financing contracts: Ananuca worth USD 253 Million, Lar do Sol – Casablanca worth USD 150 million and New Juazeiro for USD 67 Million. These collaborations allowed Atlas to increase its total capacity of contracted projects to 2.2 GW, of which a large portion has been enabled through corporate PPAs with private offtakers.
The company has also partnered with financial institutions such as IDB Invest to develop one of its most ambitious social initiatives: the female workforce program “We are all part of the same energy” in which Atlas is committed to train close to 1,000 women in the communities surrounding its projects under construction and is aiming to reach a target of over 15% of female representation within the total workforce during the execution of these projects.
“This award really belongs to our team who is committed and relentless in challenging industry standards to find new and innovative ways of working. Fundamentally, we are looking to demonstrate renewables’ ability to be both a sustainable and competitively priced source of energy. And we do so by working together with great partners to find groundbreaking solutions while simultaneously trying to address social issues and promote high sustainability standards,” said Carlos Barrera, CEO of Atlas Renewable Energy. “I’d like to thank IJGlobal for these awards as well as the financial institutions DNB Markets and IDB Invest, among others, for becoming an ally in accelerating the energy transition in the region.”
