Grenergy achieves financial close on world’s largest storage project

Specifically, Grenergy signed a green loan agreement worth $345 million, along with other complementary credit lines with financial institutions: BNP Paribas, Natixis Corporate & Investment Banking, Societe Generale, The Bank of Nova Scotia and SMBC.

Located in northern Chile, Oasis de Atacama is the world’s largest storage project and is expected to power over 145,000 homes per year while reducing CO2 emissions by over 146,000 tons. This funding covers the first two phases of the project, representing 220 MWp of solar and 1.24 GWh of storage. The first phase is expected to be connected by the end of 2024, while the remaining phases will be connected mainly by 2025.

A successful business model

The project, for which Grenergy will invest up to $1.4 billion, already has 75% of its energy contracted through various long-term contracts (PPAs), such as the one announced this year for a 15-year period that will provide over 8 TWh. In the same vein, one of the world’s first night PPAs was announced for Oasis de Atacama, which covers the supply of green energy for 15 years to Chilean company EMOAC.

Grenergy’s executive chairman, David Ruiz de Andrés, said that “this operation demonstrates the bank’s confidence in the hybridization of solar plants with storage and in Grenergy’s business model, which continues to make progress towards becoming a world leader in storage.”

According to Jean-Valery Patin, co-head of Americas Energy, Resources and Infrastructure Finance at BNP Paribas, “We are proud to support Grenergy in this transaction and extend our leadership in renewables in Chile to battery storage and renewables. This is in line with BNP Paribas’ ambitious low carbon goals and commitment to our customers.”