Peru's Illa 467MW Solar Project Completes US$289 Million Financing

en.Wedoany.com Reported - French development finance institution Proparco announced it has provided a US$40 million senior loan to Grupo Enhol's Illa solar project, with the loan incorporated into the project's total US$289 million syndicated financing. Illa is located in Arequipa in southern Peru and developed by Energía Renovable La Joya S.A. The project has an installed solar capacity of 467MWp, along with associated transmission infrastructure.

This financing round includes a US$250 million mini-perm facility, structured and underwritten by Banco Santander, with participation from Proparco, Instituto de Crédito Oficial (ICO), COFIDE, COFIDES, FIEX and FinDev Canada. The related loans provided by development finance institutions have a tenor of 7 years, covering the project's construction and initial operational phase.

FinDev Canada committed a US$56 million loan to project company Energía Renovable La Joya S.A. in February 2026 for the development, construction and operation of the Illa project. FinDev Canada disclosed the project as having 396MW AC-side installed capacity, with estimated annual generation exceeding 890,000 MWh. The Peruvian government concurrently confirmed that the US$56 million financing is for the Illa solar project in Arequipa.

The Illa project has entered its late construction phase this year. Grupo Enhol disclosed in June that construction progress exceeded 90%, transmission lines had commenced energization and real-system testing, and the main transformer had been installed and was ready for energization. Subsequent milestones include partial energization of the solar field and full station commissioning. Project documents previously published by Peruvian regulators show that Illa has an approved AC-side capacity of 385MW and represents a project investment of approximately US$335 million.

The project financing structure had already taken shape. In March 2025, Energía Renovable La Joya completed a US$289 million non-recourse project financing, with Banco Santander serving as lead arranger, bookrunner and green multi-tranche loan coordinator. The financing instruments include senior loans, a debt service reserve facility, VAT financing and local currency credit facilities. With Proparco joining the lender group, the project financing has now reached final close.

Proparco's latest disclosure states that Illa is scheduled to enter operation in 2027, and once operational, the project is expected to cover approximately 2.5% of Peru's national electricity supply. The latest developments are the completion of the US$40 million senior loan and the US$289 million financing, with project construction, transmission system testing and grid connection preparation advancing in parallel.