Cemex announces successful financing of wind farm project

Cemex has successfully completed the financing of the Ventika project. This initiative involves the construction of 2 x 126 MW wind farms, which together have a total nominal capacity of 252 MW. These will be located in General Bravo in Nuevo Leon, Mexico. They will supply renewable energy to facilities belonging to Cemex, FEMSA, DEACERO and Tecnológico de Monterrey under the self-supply scheme approved by the Mexican Energy Regulatory Commission. It is possible that more off-takers will come in on the project in the future.

Cemex utilised its technical knowhow and expertise in the clean energy sector to develop the project. The cement and building materials manufacturer will supervise the construction process and manage the wind farms once they are operational. However, Cemex will not exercise control and it will own a minority equity stake of 5% so the project will not be consolidated into Cemex’s balance sheet and its net debt will have no recourse to Cemex.

Acciona Energía will act as the EPC and Operation and Maintenance Contractor on the project. Construction is due to commence in 2Q14 and commercial operation is expected to begin by 2Q16.

The project represents an investment of around US$650 million, 75% of which corresponds to debt and 25% of which corresponds to equity. The equity partners are Fisterra Energy, a company majority owned by funds managed by Blackstone, Cemex and private partners. The debt financiers include the North American Development Bank, Banobras, Nafin, Santander and Bancomext.

“We are very pleased to close this important project as we have leveraged the use of our knowledge to continue our industry-leading expertise in the use of clean energy and alternative fuels,” said Luis Farías, Cemex Vice President of Energy and Sustainability. “We will continue to look for other potential opportunities in the sector.”

Adapted from press release by Louise Fordham

Read the article online at: https://www.worldcement.com/the-americas/11042014/cemex_announces_successful_financing_of_wind_project_34/