InterEnergy's collaboration with Bank of
America and the multilateral will scale renewable energy and
infrastructure solutions in Small Island Developing States in the
Caribbean
SHARM
EL-SHEIKH, Egypt,
Nov. 7,
2022 /PRNewswire/ -- InterEnergy Group, one of the
largest clean energy project developers, operators and owners in
the Caribbean, Central and
South America, and Bank of
America, one of the world's leading financial institutions,
announced today in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt at the COP27 United Nations Climate Change Conference,
that InterEnergy's Dominican
Republic-based utility, Consorcio Energetico Punta Cana
Macao (CEPM) will secure a green loan from Bank of America and a
multilateral development bank (MDB) to support its investments in
renewable energy and clean transportation infrastructure projects
to achieve its goal of 100% renewable energy generation by
2030.
Bank of America Chairman and CEO Brian
Moynihan initially announced the collaboration with
InterEnergy at COP26 in Glasgow last year at the World Leader's Summit
as part of the Sustainable Markets Initiative, which was founded by
His Majesty King Charles III in his former role as The Prince of
Wales.
InterEnergy's partnership with Bank of America will include a
first of its kind, multi-asset, multi-jurisdictional warehouse
financing facility which will support the construction and
operation of eligible renewable energy and clean transportation
assets located in the Small Island Developing States (SIDS). Future
phases will finance additional technologies including battery
storage, wind generation, biomass and green hydrogen that will
support CEPM's net-zero-by-2030 goal ('CEPM Zero').
CEPM is a leading electricity provider in the Dominican Republic, powering approximately 65
percent of the national tourism sector representing over 50,000
hotel rooms and more than 50,000 residential and business
customers. Reaching net-zero emissions across the utility's
portfolio will require an estimated 501 MW of renewable energy
assets and 120 MWh of storage capacity. The green corporate loan
structured and arranged by BofA represents the first phase of Bank
of America's partnership with InterEnergy to support its build-out
of solar and electric vehicle charging infrastructure.
"The transaction will help advance a more sustainable future for
the Dominican Republic and serve
as proof of concept for similar efforts in the SIDS," said Rolando
González Bunster, Chairman and CEO of InterEnergy Group. "Our hope
is that CEPM's net-zero transition and blended financing structure
will catalyze a flow of capital to clean energy and electric
mobility infrastructure projects in the region."
"As the world transitions to meet the critical net zero carbon
emissions goals, it is crucial to ensure emerging markets' access
to global banking and capital markets for the financing they need
to achieve their targets," said Karen
Fang, Global Head of Sustainable Finance at Bank of America.
"This transaction is an important example of the impact that can
result from collaborative, blended finance approaches, and we
expect to replicate this in other SIDS and the Commonwealth
countries that are vulnerable to climate change and historically
lacked access to scalable transition financing capital."
Bank of America is the sole structuring agent for the green A/B
loan and acting as sole lead arranger and B lender, with the MDB
acting as the lender of record. The loan is expected to have a
three-year maturity and proceeds committed solely to the
construction and operation of renewable energy assets. The
transaction is expected to fund in December.
InterEnergy Group
InterEnergy Group is one of the
largest diversified clean energy companies in Latin America and the Caribbean. The Group operates electric power
generation plants in the region, specifically in the Dominican Republic, Panama, Jamaica, Chile and Uruguay, with a total installed, available and
developing capacity of 2.1GW. InterEnergy plays a significant role
in the tourism sector of the Dominican
Republic where it owns and operates CEPM, the integrated
utility that serves the fast-growing resort areas of Punta Cana, Bávaro, Macao, Uvero Alto, Miches, Bayahíbe and
La Romana, covering over 70% of all hotel capacity in the country.
InterEnergy has also been leading the transformation of
Panama's energy sector with the
Laudato Si' Wind Farm, the largest in Central America and the Caribbean, with a capacity of 215 MW and the
Ikakos solar farm with a nominal capacity of 40 MW, using renewable
resources for the supply of 100% its energy. More recently
InterEnergy started construction of 670 MW natural gas Gatún
project, which will add important base load capacity to the
Panamanian system.
CEPM
CEPM is a vertically integrated private utility
and a leader in the production and distribution of electricity and
communication services in the eastern part of the Dominican Republic, including the tourist
region of Punta Cana-Bávaro and Bayahíbe. With current available
installed capacity of 315 MW, CEPM provides energy to 65% of the
national tourism sector (over 50,000 hotel rooms) and to more than
50,000 residential and business customers.
Bank of America
Bank of America is one of the world's
leading financial institutions, serving individual consumers, small
and middle-market businesses and large corporations with a full
range of banking, investing, asset management and other financial
and risk management products and services. The company provides
unmatched convenience in the United
States, serving approximately 68 million consumer and small
business clients with approximately 3,900 retail financial centers,
approximately 16,000 ATMs and award-winning digital banking with
approximately 56 million verified digital users. Bank of America is
a global leader in wealth management, corporate and investment
banking and trading across a broad range of asset classes, serving
corporations, governments, institutions and individuals around the
world. Bank of America offers industry-leading support to
approximately 3 million small business households through a suite
of innovative, easy-to-use online products and services. The
company serves clients through operations across the United States, its territories and
approximately 35 countries. Bank of America Corporation stock
(NYSE: BAC) is listed on the New York Stock Exchange.
Bank of America has set tangible sustainable finance goals and
made measurable progress in mobilizing and scaling capital
deployment to help drive social and environmental change. In 2021,
Bank of America set a goal to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas
emissions in financing activities, operations and supply chain
before 2050. As part of the company's commitment to deploy
$1.5 trillion in sustainable finance
by 2030, approximately $250 billion
of capital was mobilized and deployed aligned with the United
Nations Sustainability Development Goals in 2021.
For more Bank of America news, including dividend announcements
and other important information, visit the Bank of America newsroom
and register for news email alerts
Reporters may contact:
InterEnergy
Helena Sáenz Espona
Phone: +1.809.284.63.48
helena@internergy.com
Bank of America
Sheryl
Lee, Bank of America
Phone: 1.657.234.9950
sheryl.lee2@bofa.com
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