Ex-Im Bank Announces Over $455 Million in Project Financing for First Solar's Exports to Canada
September 2, 2011
(Ex-Im Bank)
PERRYSBURG, OHIO: At a factory tour held today at the manufacturing facility of
First Solar Inc. in Perrysburg, Ohio, Fred P. Hochberg, chairman and president
of the Export-Import Bank of the United States (Ex-Im Bank) announced the Bank's
authorization of two transactions totaling $455.7 million to support First
Solar's exports to solar-energy projects in Ontario, Canada.
At First Solar's factory in Perrysburg, Ohio, Ex-Im Bank Chairman Fred P.
Hochberg announced the Bank's authorization of more than $455 million in project
financing to support First Solar's exports of thin-film solar PV modules to
solar-energy projects in Ontario, Canada. From left to right: Jim Brown,
business president of First Solar Utility Systems; Chairman Hochberg; Senator
Sherrod Brown (D-OH); and Mike Koralewski, Perrysburg plant manager and vice
president of site operations. Photo courtesy of First Solar Inc.
Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) also participated in the tour of First Solar's
factory, where he and Chairman Hochberg met with workers and outlined efforts to
create and sustain jobs by increasing exports.
The transactions constitute Ex-Im's largest financings in history supporting
U.S. solar-energy exports to any country. The Bank's support was needed because
viable long-term financing for these projects was not otherwise available in the
commercial marketplace.
In FY 2011, Ex-Im Bank is providing a historic level of support for U.S. exports
related to solar-energy production. Through September 1, the Bank has approved
approximately $650 million to support sales of U.S. goods and services to
solar-energy projects.
Ex-Im Bank has authorized nearly $573 million in FY 2011 to support First
Solar's exports to solar-energy projects in India as well as in Canada. The
Bank's total authorizations on behalf of First Solar are supporting an estimated
550 jobs at the company's manufacturing facility in Perrysburg, Ohio.
In two separate transactions, Ex-Im Bank is providing guarantees supporting
commercial loans to project borrowers for the purchase of First Solar's and
other U.S. exports to a 50-MW solar-photovoltaic (PV) project in the townships
of Amherstburg, Belmont and Walpole and a 40-MW solar-PV project in St. Clair.
Electricity produced by the projects will be sold under multiple 20-year
power-purchase agreements to the Ontario Power Authority under Ontario's
Renewable Energy Standard Offer Program. The loans will have 18-year repayment
terms.
"U.S. exports provide a bright spot in our economic recovery, and it is critical
that we encourage more American companies to compete in the global marketplace,"
said Chairman Hochberg. "These two transactions, approved yesterday by Ex-Im
Bank's board of directors, will boost Ohio's economy, create hundreds of local
jobs and move us closer to President Obama's goal of doubling U.S. exports by
the end of 2014."
"Ex-Im Bank's support strengthens First Solar's competitiveness and enables us
to sustain U.S. renewable-energy manufacturing and the jobs that go with it,"
said James Brown, president of First Solar Utility Systems Business Group.
"Financing costs represent a major part of any solar project, so this support
helps accelerate the deployment of renewable energy worldwide."
Ex-Im Bank will guarantee a $236.7 million loan ($226.1 million in Canadian
dollars) to support First Solar's exports for the construction of a 50-megawatt
(MW) solar-energy project in three townships in Ontario. The project will have
five separate 10-MW systems in three facilities in Amerherstburg, Belmont and
Walpole. The facilities will be connected to the grid through the Hydro One,
Erie Thames Power and Haldimand Hydro distribution systems.
Ex-Im Bank will guarantee of a $219 million loan ($184.3 million in Canadian
dollars) to support First Solar's exports for the construction of a 40-MW
solar-energy project in St. Clair, Ontario. The plant consists of two separate
systems, the Moore facility and the Sombra facility, to be located on separate
sites near St. Clair Lake, Ontario. The project will be connected to the grid
through the Hydro One distribution system.
In both transactions, Ex-Im Bank is guaranteeing Canadian-dollar-denominated
loans made with the proceeds of two Canadian market bond issuances with
repayment terms of 18 years.
First Solar is also the parent company of First Solar Development Canada Inc.
(FSDCI), which is the project developer and engineering, procurement and
construction (EPC) contractor. The transactions are supporting First Solar's
export of these services in addition to its Series 3 thin-film cadmium telluride
solar-PV modules. Also supported are exports of power inverters from Xantrex
Technology USA Inc., in Elkhart, Ind., a subsidiary of Schneider Electric.
In addition to the Ontario projects, Ex-Im Bank has authorized financing for
First Solar's exports to three projects in India in FY 2011: $18 million for the
15-MW ACME Solar Technology project in the state of Gujarat, $15.7 million for
the 5-MW Azure Power project in the state of Rajasthan, and $84.3 million for
the 40-MW Dahanu Solar Power project (Reliance Power Ltd.) also in Rajasthan.
First Solar Inc. and its wholly owned subsidiaries manufacture and sell solar
photovoltaic (PV) modules, and also develop, design, construct, operate and
maintain solar PV electricity-generating facilities. Founded in 1999, the
company is the world's largest manufacturer of thin-film solar modules and has
more than 1,900 employees in the United States, including 1,200 employees at its
Perrysburg, Ohio manufacturing and engineering center. For more information,
visit www.firstsolar.com.
For more information, visit the Bank's website at www.exim.gov.
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