Following the execution in March 2022 of a Shareholders Agreement in relation to the respective ownership of Total Eren (51%) and Visolar (49%) in the project, and completion of development efforts over the last six months, the Partners have now started construction works on site of the Villarpando project.
Villarpando will be among the largest foreign investment in a solar project in the Caribbean region. Once completed, it will produce about 200 GWh per year, enough to supply about 135,000 people in the Dominican Republic while saving 125,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions per year.
The electricity to be generated by the PV farm has been contracted though a 15-year Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) signed on October 14th 2021 with Edesur Dominicana S.A, one of the State-owned electricity distribution companies.
Villarpando, with a total investment of circa US$120 million, will support sustainable growth and contribute to local employment in the Province of Azua, with about 250 people to be employed during construction, and about 60 indirect and direct permanent jobs to be created for the Operation and Maintenance phase.
With this project, Total Eren enters the Dominican renewable energy market, a market where the company sees high potential. Total Eren has opened a first office in San Domingo, and through its affiliate, Total Eren Dominicana, will pursue the next steps of the Villarpando project and expand Total Eren’s activities in the Dominican Republic.
Fabienne Demol, Executive Vice-President and Global Head of Business Development of Total Eren, commented: “We are very pleased to partner with JMMB Sustainable Energy Fund FES and Grupo Pais to develop this new solar project in the Dominican Republic, the first project of Total Eren in the country. I want to thank the Dominican authorities for their support, as well as our partners and our teams for their outstanding work. I am very enthusiastic about the construction of Villarpando and look forward to pursuing our growth in the Latin American market.”
Martin Rocher, Vice-President in charge of Total Eren’s activities in the Americas, added: “Thanks to this project, Total Eren addresses the need of the Dominican Government to diversify its energy mix with competitive and reliable clean electricity. The country will need more renewables and we are eager to do more projects of this kind and to accelerate our development in the Caribbean region.”
Jesús Cornejo, General Manager of JMMB Funds, explains: “Our Sustainable Energy Fund (“JMMB FES”) is delighted to participate with a world-class partner like Total Eren in this transaction, which is expected to have a major social, economic and environmental impact in our country. JMMB FES is supported by some of the most relevant Pension Funds in the Dominican Republic, effectively channeling workers’ savings in the long-term development of the country.”
