Chilean power generator Colbun acquired part of the development assets of financially troubled US solar power generator SunEdison, and agreed to purchase power from a new SunEdison solar project in Chile.
Colbun acquired two photovoltaic projects, the 145MW Olmué in the Valparaiso region and 57MW Santa Sofía in the Santiago metropolitan region. The former has an environmental permit, while the latter is in the permitting process.
Colbun also signed a 15-year power purchase agreement with SunEdison for 200GWh/yr from the new 100MW PV plant in Chile.
In addition, Colbun took over the supply of 350GWh/yr to local distributors from contracts that were terminated by SunEdison. The value of the overall transaction was not disclosed.
SunEdison, one of the largest renewable energy developers in the world, filed for bankruptcy protection on 21 April in New York. In the filing the company said it has accumulated $16.1bn in debt and is having difficulty repaying loans because of lower-than-expected returns from various projects.
Colbun has 21pc market share in Chile´s central power grid (SIC) in terms of installed generating capacity. Traditionally a hydroelectric generator in Chile, the company has been expanding into natural gas, coal and renewable energy in recent years, and recently acquired a 570MW combined cycle asset in Peru. The company´s consolidated installed capacity is 3,848MW.
