Jatropha project in Guatemala gets additional funding

SG Biofuels (SGB), an energy crop company has signed a mandate letter with the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) for the debt financing of its 25,000 acre jatropha bioenergy project in Guatemala. The project cost is estimated at approximately $76 million (€56.1 million). 

This enables IDB and SGB to proceed with financial, technical and environmental due diligence on a project that aims to produce 6.2 million gallons of plant oil and 640,000 tonnes of biomass per year, while stimulating rural economic and social development, including the creation of more than 1,000 new jobs, improved infrastructure and health and education programs. 

IDB will consider participating in the financing subject to its satisfactory analysis of the project. It is anticipated that the financing package would consist of an A loan of up to US$30.6 million, to be funded by IDB and complementary financing through a B-Loan or a co-loan in a yet to be defined amount.

The project utilizes SGB’s improved Jatropha hybrids – an energy crop that is native to the Guatemala region – grown on sub-prime land that is not desirable for food production.

SGB’s hybrids have been developed following five years of breeding, drawing from a diverse germplasm library including more than 12,000 genotypes.

‘The development of locally produced renewable energy is an important goal for Guatemala,’ says Edwin Rodas, Guatemala’s deputy minister of mines and energy.   ‘We support the efforts of SGB and its team of partners and investors to develop a project that will directly address our objectives related to energy security, while promoting rural development through the creation of jobs in areas of the country that needs it most.’