SunEdison gets more financing for Chilean solar plant
- Staff St. Louis Business Journal
SunEdison Inc. said it has closed on $100.4 million in additional financing for its planned solar power plant in the Atacama Desert in Chile.
The Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), the U.S. government’s development finance institution, will provide $62.9 million of the debt, St. Peters-based SunEdison announced Wednesday. IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, will provide a parallel loan of $37.5 million, and Rabobank[1] will provide a Chilean peso VAT (value-added tax) loan worth $25.6 million.
SunEdison expects to complete construction of the 100-megawatt-peak, company-owned plant in the first quarter of 2014. Construction began in August.
In an earlier financing[2], IFC had previously provided $65 million in debt for the deal. OPIC also had previously provided a $147.5 million loan, and Rabobank previously provided another Chilean peso VAT worth $45 million.
SunEdison announced in February[3] that it had signed an agreement with Chilean mining and steel group CAP to construct the Amanecer Solar CAP plant, which is targeted to produce as much as 15 percent of CAP’s energy needs. The plant will feature more than 300,000 SunEdison photovoltaic solar modules mounted on single-axis solar trackers. It is expected to be the largest solar power plant in Latin America.
SunEdison Inc. (NYSE: SUNE), formerly MEMC Electronic Materials[4], is led by CEO Ahmad Chatila[5]. The company reported a third-quarter net loss of $112.1 million on net sales of $611.5 million. It plans to spin off its semiconductor business through a public offering scheduled for early next year.
References
- ^ Rabobank (www.bizjournals.com)
- ^ In an earlier financing (www.bizjournals.com)
- ^ announced in February (www.bizjournals.com)
- ^ MEMC Electronic Materials (www.bizjournals.com)
- ^ Ahmad Chatila (feeds.bizjournals.com)