Ecuador: Loan granted to Enermax for Calope electricity project

The Andean Development Corporation signed a long-term loan for US$12 million for the company Enermax SA for the construction of the Calope hydroelectric project, with an effective capacity of 15.0 megawatts and a total cost of US$18 million.

Enermax SA is part of Supermercados La Favorita (Supermaxi group), the country´s leading chain. The Supermaxi group enters the activity of electricity self-generation in a bid to provide clean reliable electric energy at lower cost. The group will consume 70% of the power produced and the rest will be sold on the wholesale market.

This project, which is the first for private hydroelectric generation in Ecuador financed by the CAF, will contribute to reducing the country´s energy deficit, and support investment in clean generation with important environmental benefits from the substitution of thermal energy. The integrated project development model adopted exploits both commercial and environmental benefits.

During the socio-environmental evaluation, the CAF identified and developed the quantification and monetization of the environmental benefits of the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) for projects of this type. This mechanism, set up by the Kyoto Protocol, reduces the effect of global warming. The implementation of the project means that the Supermaxi group will receive additional revenue from the sale of greenhouse gas reduction certificates.

The project also develops, jointly with the competent organizations, a management plan for the Calope River basin, and a reforestation plan to be executed by adjacent communities, under the concept of environmental services with a positive social impact because of the community participation in the project.

The Calope project is located in the parishes of La Maná and Guasaganda, Cantón La Maná, Chimborazo province. The project works are located 30 kilometers to the east of Quevedo and 65 kilometers west of Latacunga, where the waters of the Calope River are harnessed as part of the Zapotal and Babahoyo rivers hydrographic system of the Guayas River basin.

The project consists of works to divert and harness 10.6 m3 of water from the Calope River. The main works are: sand removal with double chamber technique; a section of canalized channel 3 meters wide, 2 meters high, 1.35 kilometers long; underground steel pipe siphon with 2 meter diameter, 404 meters long; a following channel canalized in the same section which takes the water to the works of the hourly regulation reservoir, with adjoining pressure tank. In the low water period, the hourly regulation reservoir will generate maximum capacity at times of peak demand. The project has two generating units with Francis-type turbines which generate 7.5 megawatts each, with a nominal installed power of 15 megawatts. The water that enters the turbines is returned to the Calope River through the discharge works. The power generated will be transported to the Transelectric plant.

One of the project´s main advantages is that it is located in the western cordillera of the Andes, which has a hydrological system that is complementary to the eastern cordillera, where Ecuador´s major hydroelectric projects are located, such as Paute. This will allow the maximum capacity to be generated during the low water period at Paute.

With this loan to Enermax, the CAF strengthens its already extensive presence in the financing of companies in Ecuador.