COFIDES Backs Enhol’s 396-MW Peru Solar Plant

• COFIDES will back Grupo Enhol’s 396MW Illa solar in Peru with $40M, via FIEX and syndication. A $350M-plus project set to be Arequipa’s biggest solar and power Peru’s surge.

Spanish state-owned fund manager COFIDES will provide USD 40 million (EUR 34.2m) for Grupo Enhol’s 396-MW Illa solar photovoltaic project in Peru’s Arequipa region. The total investment in the project exceeds USD 350 million.

COFIDES said the financing comes via a syndicated project finance loan backed by its FIEX fund for foreign investment and its own resources, following a separate USD 56 million loan secured earlier from FinDev Canada. Illa is expected to be Peru’s largest solar farm, with about 80% of output under a long-term power purchase agreement with Kallpa Generacion. Peru has 1,088 MW of installed solar capacity, with Illa among the most mature projects targeting roughly 3,490 MW.

How will COFIDES’ $40m financing advance Enhol’s 396-MW Illa solar in Peru?

• Bridges a major portion of early-to-mid construction capital for Illa’s 396 MW scale, helping Enhol lock in long-lead procurement and site works in Arequipa without stretching equity requirements.
  
• Provides project-finance structure that matches the development timeline: debt tranches can be released as agreed conditions are met (e.g., engineering milestones, EPC contracting, permitting, and achievement of financial close requirements).
  
• Strengthens financing of grid and interconnection scope—critical for a large plant—by supporting studies and works needed to reliably deliver energy into Peru’s transmission system.
  
• Supports balance-sheet stability while the project ramps up toward commercial operations, covering interim costs such as construction interest/financing during build and commissioning activities.
  
• Helps Enhol secure and finalize the commercial architecture around long-term offtake, including closing details needed to underwrite bankability (since a strong contracted revenue base reduces lender risk).
  
• Enables faster contracting with EPC and major equipment suppliers by improving payment certainty and reducing the likelihood of funding gaps that can delay engineering or procurement.
  
• Improves credit profile through COFIDES’ role as an experienced development-backed lender, which can make it easier to bring in additional senior debt or mobilize complementary financing.
  
• Complements the earlier FinDev Canada loan by layering funding sources, allowing a larger share of total capex to be debt-funded and easing pressure on project equity.
  
• FIEX backing and COFIDES involvement typically signal risk mitigation—helping address country and foreign-investment concerns that often slow down large-scale renewable deployment.
• Supports the project’s path to becoming a flagship asset in Peru by giving the capital base needed to reach commissioning on schedule, which is essential to capture value from the contracted sales period.