SunEdison wins nonrecourse financing for Tarumizu project

SUNEDISON Inc. (NYSE: SUNE), the world's largest renewable energy development company, has recently obtained nonrecourse project financing from Japan-based Shinsei Bank for its Tarumizu project, making the project one of the first utility scale solar projects built by a US company in Japan to receive such funding from a major Japanese bank.

 

The Tarumizu project is a 9.6 megawatt utility-scale solar photovoltaic power plant being built in Japan. It aims to contribute to Japan's renewable energy industry and the electrification of rural Japan. Expected to achieve commercial operation by September this year, it will provide electricity to about 3,000 households on the southern Japanese island of Kyushu. 

 

Under the terms of the financing agreement, which was signed in January, Shinsei Bank will be lending SunEdison 80% of the total project cost for the Tarumizu project. The first drawdown was made last February 24.

 

Netoshi Kuriyama, representative director and country manager for Japan at SunEdison, said: "This project is a significant milestone for SunEdison in the growing Japanese renewable energy industry. With this project, we have proven that we can develop bankable projects with leading Japanese financial and EPC partners and we look forward to rapid growth in the Japanese market."