Cuatrecasas has advised Patria Investments, an alternative asset manager in Latin America, on drafting and negotiating the material contracts and on financial structuring for “Puerta de Oro,” the largest solar energy project being built in Colombia, which will contribute to an annual reduction of 361,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions, strengthening the country’s energy security and its environmental and economic sustainability.
Financing for the construction, operating and project maintenance totals COP 1 billion, the highest amount of debt financed in the country for projects of this type, granted by Bancolombia, Banco de Occidente, Banco de Bogotá and the National Development Finance (FDN).
Located in the Department of Cundinamarca, the solar energy plant will have an installed capacity of 358 MW and contribute to an improved access to energy for Colombians. Once it becomes operational, it will be the largest solar park in the country—covering over 900 hectares—and will reinforce the energy matrix with green energy sources.
Ana María Sánchez, partner of the Energy and Infrastructure, and Finance Practices at the Cuatrecasas Bogotá office, said, “This transaction is the most important project structuring and financing in the Colombian photovoltaic project sector to date. It involved developing and negotiating two construction contracts, two operation and maintenance contracts, an interface agreement for the constructors, four main equipment supply contracts, contracts with ISA Intercolombia, and a logistics services contract. It is also the first time that a project with a multicontract framework of this type secures financing under the project finance model in Colombia. All of this made it a highly complex project, led from the legal side by Cuatrecasas.”
The solar energy plant will be located in a strategic area of the county, near to major energy demand centers such as Bogotá and Medellín, and is planned to have 22.4 km transmission line.
Besides its social and environmental impact, this is the first energy project in Colombia in which the government took control as a land-management strategy, the structuring and implementation of which was handled by the Cuatrecasas Real Estate Practice, led by lawyer Camilo Cardona.
The Cuatrecasas advisory team for Patria Investments was led by lawyers Manuel Quinche and Ana María Sánchez from the Bogotá office. The following also participated in this transaction: Madelin Ramos, Juan Esteban Rangel and Natalia Serrano (Finance); and Marcos Díaz, Manuel Gómez, Andrés Martínez, Santiago Mendoza and Nicolás Villaneda (Energy and Infrastructure).
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