Chinese State Firm Ponders Purchasing X-Elio’s Mexican Business

China Three Gorges Corporation (CTG) is considering to purchase X-Elio’s renewable energy assets in Mexico as a part of the company’s international expansion. X-Elio, a recognized Spanish developer of solar assets, has a Mexican project portfolio of around 535MW considered to be worth around US$400 million.

Anonymous sources close to the matter informed Bloomberg News on the plans of the state-owned Chinese power utility, which are currently taken under consideration. The corporation has not yet made a final decision, so new bidders still have the possibility to acquire the assets. Representatives from both X-Elion and CTG declined to comment. Nevertheless, the companies have completed a major deal in the past, when CTG purchased 13 Spanish solar projects featuring a capacity of just over 500MW. The state company then moved to acquire an additional 400MW of mostly wind-based capacity from Spanish billionaires, highlighting CTG’s significant financial capabilities.

Bloomberg News reported earlier this year that CTG aims to sell a 25 percent stake in its growing portfolio of international assets to private investors in a deal valued at US$2 billion. CTG wants to use these funds to expand its international business even further. As a corporation, CTG was formed in 1993, taking its name from the Three Gorges Dam project, the world’s largest hydroelectric power plant with a walloping capacity of 22,500MW. Even though the dam is not without its controversies, such as activists blaming it for increased landslides, the Chinese government considered the project a major success because of its capacity to provide energy while mitigating floods that had killed millions in the past.

X-Elio continues to expand its Mexican portfolio. The developer recently reported it had obtained the US$44.1 million of financing it needed to complete its 119MW Perote II project. Perote II is located in the state of Veracruz and is expected to produce 248.370 MWh/year, enough to supply energy for 72.916 households. X-Elio furthermore calculates that the project will save 161.436 CO₂/Year of emissions over a timespan of around 35 years.