Macquarie buys 90% stake in 322 MW solar portfolio in northern Mexico

Macquarie Group Limited, the world’s largest infrastructure asset manager, has announced that its Macquarie Infrastructure and Real Assets (MIRA) unit has agreed to acquire a 90% stake in solar power plant portfolio with a combined capacity of 322 MW in northern Mexico.

In a statement reported in several Mexican financial media outlets, the company said that Eosol Invest Mexico Uno, S.L., a subsidiary of Spanish developer, Eosol, will hold a 10% interest in the portfolio, without providing more financial details on the deal. All of the projects, the company specified, will be built by Spanish EPC contractor, TSK Electrónica y Electricidad S.A.

The portfolio consists of two PV plants totaling 67 MW currently in operation, a 109 MW project under construction, and two more projects equaling 146 MW whose construction is planned to start by the end of this year.

The project under construction, Macquarie added, is being financed by Nacional Financiera S.A. (NAFINSA). The company also said that some of the projects have been awarded PPAs with a lifespan of between 15 and 20 years, without specifying if these were selected by the Mexican government in the RE auctions, or if the projects will sell power on the spot market.

Macquarie acquired its first solar park in Mexico – the 22.5 MW Parque Solar Coahuila PV plant – in August 2017. The solar park is located near the town of Matamoros, in the northeastern state of Tamaulipas.

The facility is delivering power to the government of the state of Coahuila and to the municipalities of Matamoros and Torreón through a 15-year PPA, which could eventually be extended for another five years. The installation will also supply power to a Mexican corporation under a seven-year PPA with a three-year extension option.

In June of 2017, the government of the state of Durango also announced that Eosol was planning to develop three PV plants totaling 283 MW on its territory.