Colombia. The financing to GreenYellow amounts to US $44.5 million and was granted by Banco de Bogotá on a portfolio of 85MWp of solar power generation.
According to the French multinational, the agreement strengthens its clean and renewable energy initiatives that contribute to economic and environmental development. GreenYellow also noted that its investment in the Colombian energy sector reflects its commitment to reducing its carbon footprint and its confidence in the potential growth and stability of the regional market.
"This financing structure demonstrates that we have a strong contractual ecosystem in place for each project, as the business set-up is analysed across sales, acquisitions and the complex integration inherent in an investment of this size. On the one hand, it confirms that we have adequately established the projects from a contractual point of view and, on the other hand, that our clients are considered bankable entities, since we work with companies with solid credit histories," said Felipe Camargo, CEO of GreenYellow Colombia.
Likewise, the executive let it be known that the debt operation was structured under the figure of Project Finance, in which the available resources will be used to continue the growth plan in the country, reaffirming the company's commitment to the generation of clean energy.
Specifically, the new agreement allowed the refinancing of five solar parks located in the departments of Magdalena (Caimán Cienaguero), Meta (Versalles, Denmark, La Mena) and Córdoba (Alejandría), as well as two self-consumption projects in Sucre and Boyacá signed with a leading transport company in the hydrocarbons sector.
"We are proud to support initiatives that promote the development of renewable energy sources and the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, ensuring that our nation's communities benefit from more sustainable and 
prosperous growth. At Banco de Bogotá we have a green portfolio of more than 2.6 trillion, a sign of our support for companies that take the leap towards the use of renewable energy sources," said Isabel Cristina Martínez, Vice President of Sustainability and Corporate Services at Banco de Bogotá.
Investments
GreenYellow has invested around US$80 million in the photovoltaic generation portfolio, which was destined, among others, to the installation of more than 130,000 solar panels in the country.
"This agreement provides us with new resources to continue investing in projects in Colombia, strengthening our position as a company that not only talks about energy transition, but lives it day by day. This achievement is the result of the work of a multidisciplinary team, composed of professionals who are impeccable in their work and passionate about a greater purpose: to contribute to the sustainability of our planet in the long term," said Diana Durán, Financial Director of GreenYellow Colombia.
The plants included in this portfolio consider a variety of different offtakers, technologies, contractors, and geographies. This is the first portfolio-type financing with a non-recourse loan to be carried out in the country.
Luis Carlos Sarmiento Carvajal, Executive Vice President of Aval Investment Banking, said: "We are very pleased to be able to accompany GreenYellow in the structuring of the project finance of its portfolio of seven solar plants for generation and self-consumption. This represents a very important milestone for the group's banks due to the diversity of offtakers, EPCs and conditions of each plant."
Environmental impact
These projects not only contribute significantly to the country's energy capacity (with an installed capacity of 85MWp), but have also generated around 2,230 local jobs and will help reduce greenhouse gas emissions by approximately 1,821,000 tonnes of CO2 equivalent, which translates into a positive environmental impact comparable to the planting of more than 8,671,000 trees.
"The implementation of these solar projects represents a step forward in the adoption of clean energy, generating employment opportunities
, transferring knowledge and promoting economic growth in the local communities where the parks are located," concluded Sergio Ramírez, Project Finance Manager at GreenYellow Colombia.
