Dona Julia

Active

The Dona Julia Hydroelectric Project is a run of the river, 18-MW project located in Horquetas de Sarapiqui, Heredia. The company sponsors are the ERI Services Facilities Management Group (24%) and local partners. The project, which costs US$ 34 million, consists of a reservoir for the storage and discharge of water consistent with peak energy requirements of ICE. From the total cost, US $24.8 million were financed by long-term loans from DEG (US$13.8 million) and Scotia Mercantile Bank, a subsidiary of the Bank of Novia Scotia (US $10.2 million). In addition, US$ 5 million of the loan were provided by Dresdner Bank Lateinamerika AG as part of an A/B loan syndication. MIGA, in turn, provided an US$ 11.4 million guarantee in 1998 to ERI Holdings and Scotia Mercantile Bank for their equity investment and loan, respectively, to the project. Electricity generated will be sold to ICE under a standard 15-year power purchase agreement. The annual generation in an average year will be between 83 GWh and 87.8 GWh during peak energy demand, displacing 20-MW thermal units of ICE that do not meet environmental standards.