Chinese wind turbine maker and project developer Xinjiang Goldwind Science & Technology has signed loan facilities totalling US$270 million to refinance a group of wind farms in Argentina.

Lead arrangers were Banco Santander (Hong Kong branch), China Citic Bank International Limited (CITIC) and Bank of China (Panama branch).

Citicorp International acted as agent and security agent, and local entity La Sucursal de Citibank acted as onshore security agent and onshore security trustee.

The deal involves a set of facilities between the lenders for Parque Eolico Loma Blanca I, Parque Eolico Loma Blanca II, Parque Eolico Loma Blanca III, Parque Eolico Loma Blanca VI, and Parques Eolicos Miramar.

The Loma Blanca projects are located in Chubut province, Patagonia, while Miramar is in Buenos Aires province.

The loans were secured by a collateral package, which included, among others, a pledge on the shares of each of the borrowers, fiduciary assignments of rights of payments and receivables under certain project documents such as power purchase agreements entered into by the borrowers and the Argentine National Electricity Market Management Agency.

All five wind farms are equipped with GW 3S smart wind turbines, with a total of 109 units and 354.6 megawatts of installed capacity. About 1.6 billion kilowatt-hours of clean power will be generated annually.

The last of the five projects, the 100-megawatt Loma Blanca VI, started its 20-year commercial operation in June 2021.

Bruchou, Fernandez Madero & Lombardi advised Beijing-based Goldwind in Argentina. According to the law firm, the transaction stands out for its complexity as a secured cross-border financing for Argentine companies, including compliance with the requirements set forth for mandatory refinancing plans under local laws.

Also acting as legal advisers to Goldwind were Mayer Brown in Hong Kong and Fangda Partners in Shanghai.

The lenders were advised by Baker & McKenzie in Hong Kong, and King & Wood Mallesons in Shanghai. Tanoira Cassagne Abogados acted as legal adviser to the agent and security agent as well as to the onshore security agent and onshore security trustee in Argentina.