Case Study - Project Morón and Project Olivenza
| Country: | Spain |
|---|---|
| Business area: | Environmental Infrastructure |
| Sector: | Renewable Energy |
| Project value: | In excess of €500m |
| Investment date: | July 2011 |
| Completion date: | Summer 2012 (expected) |
| Realisation date: | To be determined |
Investment into two project companies, each to design, build, finance and operate a 50MW concentrated solar power plant
InfraRed began discussing the acquisition of a minority interest in two partly-constructed Concentrated Solar Power (“CSP”) plants with their owners Grupo Ibereólica, a renewable energy developer, and Inveravante, an international conglomerate active mainly in investments and energy, in January 2011. After making an indicative offer InfraRed progressed to exclusivity at the end of February and in June, following detailed due diligence, the parties agreed to the acquisition subject to the consent of the senior lenders to each of the projects. This was achieved in July 2011.
The projects are located at Morón de la Frontera in Andalucia
(“Project Morón”) and at Olivenza in Extremadura (“Project Olivenza”). The plants use commercially-proven parabolic trough technology, where trough-shaped mirrors concentrate the sunlight onto receiver tubes in which a thermal heat transfer fluid is heated to c. 400 ⁰C. Through heat exchangers superheated steam is produced which drives a steam turbine generating electricity.
The plants are being built by a joint venture between Acciona
and Idom. Construction is financed through a combination of shareholder funds and a senior debt facility from a club of banks, totalling in excess of €500m. The plants are managed by Aprovechamientos Energeticos.
