Eight Rivers Energy Company has secured $50 million in financing this month for what will be Jamaica’s largest solar plant. The loans were secured through foreign institutions, following an invitation to local banks to participate. Local institutions were unable to comply with the necessary terms, according to EREC partner Angella Rainford. “We invited select local banks to participate, but the tenor of the loan was difficult to achieve in the local market. Most local institutions could not lend for over 15 years,” she said, but declined to disclose the terms of the loans received. The project has faced delays, moving the plant commissioning date to early 2019.
Eight Rivers received backing from France’s Proparco development bank and Dutch development bank FMO. Proparco is a development financial institution partly owned by French Development Agency and private shareholders. MPC Capital indicated on its website that the financing agreement was signed in mid-May.
Last year, Rainford expressed an interest in participating in additional energy projects, in particular, energy storage. In such a case, the company’s solar plant would at night sell excess energy generated during the day to the national energy grid. Rainford expects the Jamaican Government to offer storage tenders some time in 2018.
