Carey advises on $289m financing for BESS del Desierto
Carey has advised BNP Paribas and Crédit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank, as lenders, on a financing of up to USD $289 million for the construction, development and operation of a battery energy storage project (BESS), called BESS del Desierto, belonging to the Atlas Renewable Energy group.
The project has an installed capacity of 200MW, and storage capacity of 800 MWh, located in the commune of María Elena, Antofagasta Region.
Of the total financing amount, USD $219 million was obtained through a senior credit facility and letter of credit facility, and USD $70 million was obtained through other credit facilities.
The transaction was completed on 6 August and involved the Chilean AND US (New York) jurisdictions. Milbank advised the lenders in NY, while Claro & Cia and White & Case acted as advisors to the borrowers locally and internationally, respectively.
The advisory was challenging as BESS del Desierto is partially located on the site of another Atlas Group project, which necessitated working closely with the financiers of that project, including analysing, evaluating and determining mitigating risks arising from this particular situation. The financing was closed in record time for a project of this size and complexity, as Atlas has acknowledged, and once built, it will allow around 280 GWh per year to be reinjected into the grid, contributing to reduce the discharge of renewable energy generated during the day from solar photovoltaic sources, as well as greater stability and reliability of electricity supply in the region and the country.
Ignacio Diaz and Delia Fontaine acted as in-house counsels to Atlas.
Carey’s team was led by partner Fernando Noriega (pictured), with support from associates Diego Lasagna and Felipe Reyes.
Milbank’s team comprised partner Jaime Ramírez, with support from associates Daniel Ríos, Ana María Rodríguez and Natália d’Avila.
White & Case was represented by partner Thomas Pate and associate Helena Buitrago.
Claro’s team consisted of partner José Luis Ambrosy, and associates Rafael Mackay, Bastián Cabrera.
