Energy Central-News Article

AES Andes informed this Monday in an essential fact to the Financial Market Commission (CMF) the execution of a purchase and sale agreement for the acquisition of the Bolero Solar Park, located in the commune of Sierra Gorda, in the Atacama Desert, Antofagasta Region .

As reported by AES Andes in the essential fact to the regulator, it entered into a purchase and sale agreement with EDF EN Chile Holding Spa, Marubeni Corporation and Helio Atacama Tres SpA (HAT) for the company to acquire all the shares of the latter company. Thus, once the transaction is closed, whose total value amounts to US$ 112.7 million, HAT will become a subsidiary of AES Andes.

HAT is a company that owns a photovoltaic plant with an installed capacity of 146 MW, in an area of 518 hectares, called "Bolero", which includes an electric substation and a 220Kv transmission line.

In a press release, it is detailed that the photovoltaic park is divided into two sections: Bolero East and Bolero West, with 60 MWp and 86 MWp of installed capacity, respectively. It has approximately 470 thousand solar panels and is connected through a 3-kilometer transmission line to the Laberinto substation, owned by AES Andes. Its commercial operation began in April 2018 and its generation is equivalent to supplying the energy of 181 thousand homes.

As AES Andes informed the regulator, the materialization of the transaction is subject to the fulfillment of certain conditions, usual for this type of transactions. The total value of the transaction corresponds to a capital contribution to HAT by the company, destined to the payment of all its current financial obligations with a syndicate of banks led by Banco Itaú Chile and the price to be paid for the shares owned by the sellers.

"As a result of the transaction, the company will not consolidate new financial debt, since all of HAT's obligations with banks and financial institutions will be extinguished", it is pointed out.

AES Andes stated in the essential fact that "this transaction is part of the Greentegra strategy defined by the company, consisting of incorporating renewable generation assets to its portfolio, aligned with the commitment to decarbonize the energy matrix".

"The transaction described above will affect the company's results in that it will have to consolidate its financial statements with those of the new subsidiary. However, at this stage it is not possible to quantify the effects that the reported event will have on the company's results," he explained.

The addition of a storage system will be evaluated

In the AES Andes statement, the company's CEO, Javier Dib, explained that, with the acquisition of Bolero Solar, they are accelerating their transformation by incorporating an "excellent asset that is already in operation and that adds to our solar hub in the north of the country". "This allows us to increase our capacity in the area and to have important synergies when it comes to operating our photovoltaic plants in the Atacama Desert," he said.

Dib added that this is a unique area in the world thanks to its high solar radiation, which, he said, "allows us to continue accelerating the future of energy together." "To this end, we will evaluate the possibility of adding a storage system that will allow us to inject energy during non-solar hours."

Meanwhile, the CEO of EDF Renewables Chile, Matías Steinacker, said that "the sale of Bolero responds to a strategic decision of EDF Renewables, and is part of a reorganization process that seeks to diversify our assets in the country."

"In addition to the renewable power plants we have in operation, we have a diversified portfolio of renewable, storage and hydrogen projects under development, which is a clear sign of our commitment to continue contributing to the country's energy transition," said the executive.

With Bolero Solar, AES Andes said, it will operate 249 MW of solar power, including Andes Solar I and IIA (103 MW). This is in addition to projects currently under construction such as Andes Solar IIb (180 MW) and Andes Solar IV (238 MW), which will have battery storage systems with capacities of 112 MW and 147 MW for five hours, respectively.