Financing large photovoltaic power plants no longer depends solely on the solvency of developers and power purchase agreements. Equipment selection, manufacturer support, and the risks associated with plant performance are also part of the assessments financial institutions make before committing capital.
During the Future Energy Summit (FES) Peru, Cristian Romero , Business Development Manager at Gonvarri Solar Steel, highlighted that banks are deepening their analysis of technology providers, a trend that, according to his experience, has become more relevant as the industry matures.
“It used to be unusual for a bank to go all the way to the technology provider. Nowadays, banks no longer just evaluate the IPP (Index of Pension Funds) or the track record, but they also look at the technology itself to ensure that it can truly provide the guarantee it offers,” he said.
This procedure is part of what is known as technical due diligence , through which lenders identify risks that could affect electricity generation and, therefore, the expected revenue to service the debt.
In fact, the International Finance Corporation (IFC) , part of the World Bank Group, states in its guide for developers of large-scale solar power plants that these reviews include solar resource studies, production estimates, engineering designs and analysis of solar modules, inverters, transformers and trackers.
Furthermore, lenders can require modifications to components or contracts when they detect risks that compromise the project's bankability. In certain transactions, they may even require approval regarding the selection of manufacturers.
The guide also notes that independent technical assessments can take several weeks and recommends starting discussions with potential funders from the early stages of development to avoid later reviews that complicate financial closure.
Million-dollar investments and new projects in Peru
The Peruvian market offers recent examples of the magnitude of the operations that require this type of financial structuring.
In September 2026, Proparco, a French development finance institution, announced a US$40 million loan for the Illa solar power plant , promoted by Grupo Enhol in Arequipa, as part of a US$289 million syndicated financing.
The package includes a US$250 million mini-perm credit facility structured by Banco Santander, with participation from development finance institutions. This mechanism provides medium-term financing to support construction and the initial operational stages, before potential refinancing.
The plant will have a capacity of 467 MWp and, according to Proparco, could contribute around 2.5% of the national electricity supply once it becomes operational in 2027.
Gonvarri Solar Steel is participating in Illa as a tracker supplier. In July, the company announced that it had completed the installation of these structures, which are used to orient the modules and optimize solar radiation capture during the day.
The transaction is part of a broader portfolio of photovoltaic investments. According to the Ministry of Energy and Mines (MINEM), Peru has 13 solar projects with definitive concessions totaling 2,402 MW and representing approximately US$1.806 billion in investment .
Of that group, nine initiatives are concentrated in Arequipa, with 1816 MW, while other developments are distributed between Moquegua, Ica and Loreto.
These figures allow us to understand the scale of resources committed to projects where the accuracy of generation estimates, the distribution of contractual risks, and the durability of components affect financing conditions.
Solar tracker engineering and its impact on risks
From the perspective of technology providers, Romero identified the adaptation of trackers to the characteristics of each site as one of the main aspects that must be resolved during the design of a power plant.
“Within a photovoltaic system, the most customized component, the most specific to the project, is the tracker,” he explained.
Unlike other equipment with more standardized characteristics, these structures must be configured according to soil conditions, weather variables and altitude, factors that can modify both engineering solutions and installation costs.
Romero exemplified that it is not the same complexity to carry out an installation on stony ground as it is to do so on another where the ground offers less resistance to driving the pillars.
In that sense, he considered it necessary to incorporate suppliers from the initial stages of development, especially to anticipate construction difficulties and avoid modifications when projects are already advanced.
According to the executive, Gonvarri Solar Steel has accumulated over 30 GW of experience worldwide and over 8 GW in Latin America . In Peru, the company claims to have supplied trackers for approximately 1.2 GW of projects and to hold over 60% of the market share in that segment.
From assembly to operation: the challenge of sustaining generation
The technological assessment does not end when a power plant enters service. Photovoltaic projects are typically structured around operating horizons of 20 to 25 years, during which they must maintain certain levels of availability and production.
Therefore, in addition to the initial guarantees, operation and maintenance contracts become important in the distribution of responsibilities between developers, operators and manufacturers.
The IFC identifies among the elements of analysis contractual guarantees, facility acceptance procedures, contractor responsibilities, and generation forecasts used in financial models.
In this scenario, Romero highlighted that developers are showing greater interest in predictive maintenance tools capable of identifying anomalies before they lead to failures or performance losses.
“There is an added value that we technologists are working on with greater emphasis, which is in operation and maintenance, so that the performance levels that were stipulated from the beginning can be maintained or improved,” he stated.
Thus, the financiers' analysis connects decisions made during the engineering phase with the operational results projected for the coming decades. The selection of technologies not only affects the initial cost of a power plant but also influences its maintenance needs, contractual risks, and the predictability of the revenues that support the debt.