IDB approves $72m loan for 396MW wind farm in US

The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) has finalized a $72m loan to help finance the construction of a 396MW wind farm in Oaxaca, in the US state of Mexico.

The IDB support will allow Mareia Renovables to build the wind power project using 132 towers with turbines and include the construction of a 52km transmission line linking the farm with the electricity grid. The wind farm will supply energy to subsidiaries and affiliates of Fomento Economico Mexicano and Cerveceria Cuauhtemoc Moctezuma under 33 self-supply agreements, helping the beverage companies save an estimated 10% of their total energy costs.

IDB Structured and Corporate Finance Department project team leader Jeff Easum said this operation, given the size of the project, is a significant step in the development of viable renewable energy projects in Latin America. The project, is expected to reduce emissions by nearly one million metric tons of carbon dioxide annually.