SunEdison, a subsidiary of MEMC Electronic Materials, says it closed three transactions involving approximately 98 MW of solar photovoltaic power plants in Europe during the second quarter.
The transactions include the sale of a 60 MW power plant in Bulgaria to a consortium of investors consisting of an affiliate of First Reserve Energy Infrastructure Fund, Crescent Capital and ACWA Power; a 13 MW portfolio of projects in Italy to Eoxis; and a 25 MW power plant in Italy to an institutional investor.
NOMAC, a subsidiary of ACWA Power, and SunEdison entered into a long-term joint venture agreement to provide operation and maintenance services for the 60 MW power plant. The solar project, located in Karadzhalovo, Bulgaria, was interconnected in March, and was financed through a 155 million euro, nonrecourse debt financing arrangement with IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, Overseas Private Investment Corp. (OPIC) and Unicredit.
The 13 MW portfolio of solar projects in Italy consists of three facilities located in the region of Campania that were interconnected in late 2011. The assets will be monitored, maintained and operated by SunEdison under long-term agreements.
In a parallel transaction, SunEdison closed, jointly with Eoxis, the financing of two of the projects included in this portfolio through a 24.9 million euro, nonrecourse, long-term senior debt facility with Centrobanca (UBI Banca Group). This facility was partly guaranteed by SACE, the insurance and financial group owned by the Italian Ministry of Economy and Finance. The financing agreement included an additional 1.7 million euro VAT facility.
SunEdison also closed on a transaction with an institutional investor involving a 25 MW photovoltaic plant in Puglia, Italy. The project has been operating since the fourth quarter of 2011.
