KEPCO Secures $500M Funding for Guam Solar and ESS Project

Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO) announced on Feb. 3 that it has secured a project finance (PF) contract worth $500 million for a solar power and energy storage system (ESS) linked renewable energy power project being pursued in Guam, USA.

This PF contract was structured to procure funding based on the business feasibility of the local business entity and long-term power purchase agreements (PPA) without parent company repayment guarantees. It is particularly significant that competitive financing conditions were secured through a lending syndicate including international commercial banks centered on the Export-Import Bank of Korea, amid the recent expansion of volatility in international financial markets.

This project is a power generation project commissioned by the Guam Power Authority, aiming to provide stable supply of eco-friendly electricity by constructing 132 megawatts (MW) of solar power facilities and 84MW·325MWh of energy storage systems (ESS) in the Yona region of Guam.

Upon completion of the project, it is expected that approximately 222GWh of annual electricity supply will be possible, capable of meeting the annual electricity demand of about 20,000 households in the Guam region.

Additionally, KEPCO’s generation facility capacity in Guam will expand from the existing 258MW to 390MW. This corresponds to approximately 55% of Guam’s total generation capacity (708MW).

In particular, this project was structured with domestic companies participating throughout the entire cycle from equity investment to engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC), and operations and maintenance (O&M). KEPCO explained that this is significant as a representative example of a successful “Team Korea” collaboration model in the renewable energy power business sector, establishing an important foundation for securing similar power projects in the North American region in the future.

KEPCO President Kim Dong-cheol stated, “This PF agreement is a meaningful achievement that demonstrates KEPCO’s overseas business capabilities and business risk management abilities by securing funding based on business feasibility and trust in the global financial market without parent company guarantees,” and added, “We will continue to expand the ‘Team Korea’ power business model to overseas markets, focusing on new energy businesses such as solar power and ESS.”