Abengoa redefines its solar strategy in Chile, gives assurances for 950 GWh awarded in auction

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Spain's Abengoa will also restructure its business in Chile, as part of the process of negotiation with its creditors. The CSP giant began the bankruptcy process on November 25.

Abengoa plans to slow down various works on the completion of Solar Atacama 1, but “this does not affect the supply commitments under the electricity auctions” stated the company in Chilean periodical Puso. Last December Abengoa was awarded 950 gigawatt-hours in the auction process for distributors in Chile's Central Grid (SIC), at a price of US$115 per megawatt-hour.

Abengoa bid for a continuous block to supply electricity for 24 hours a day. The company is committed to begin delivering electricity in January 2019 with the two solar complexes Atacama 1 and Atacama 2. In both cases the projects consist of a mix of solar power tower CSP and solar PV.

The company told Puso that the future of Atacama 1, consisting of 100 MW of PV and 110 MW of CSP, is not at risk. However, even if it slows down various works related to the project. Although it did not say which part of the project is expected to suffer delays, Abengoa gave assurances that the delays would not affect the delivery commitment under the electricity auction.

Abengoa initially planned to connect the PV plant to the grid at the end of 2015, and to connect the CSP plant in the second quarter of 2017. The company also gave assurances that the projects it is building in Chile for third parties will not be delayed, while clarifying its list of local projects.

Abengoa is also considering the sale of assets. In the case of Chile, the impact of the company's financial difficulties on its generation projects is limited by co-ownership of projects with the EIG Fund.

This week Abengoa expects to receive the first injection of liquidity from Spanish banks. These seven creditor banks have signed a memorandum of understanding regarding the provision of €113 million which it requires to close out the year. The company began proceedings with creditors with a debt of more than €9 billion and around €5 billion in outstanding payments to suppliers.

This article was translated by Christian Roselund. For the original article in Spanish, please see the pv magazine Latinoamérica website.

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