The wind manufacturer said it will use renewable express financing from the bank to export 100 small turbines to Italy that will be used in community wind projects.
These projects will be developed in partnership with PurEnergy, a leading wind energy developer based in Bisaccia, Italy, and will be financed by the Ex-Im Bank in cooperation with RB International Finance.
“The initial project in Italy is expected to be the first of many to follow in Europe,” said Parthiv Amin, President of Community Wind at Northern Power Systems. “We are excited to be partnering with Ex-Im Bank to grow our business and create additional green jobs throughout our US supply chain and at our engineering design and manufacturing centre in Vermont.”
Ex-Im has agreed to guarantee $22.2 million in euro-denominated loans from RB International to facilitate the purchase, which is expected to be the largest US export of its kind. It also represents the first community wind project that Ex-Im Bank helped finance.
“Supporting exports of US-produced goods and services in the renewable-energy sector is a major commitment of Ex-Im Bank,” said Ex-Im Bank Chairman and President Fred Hochberg.
“In fiscal year 2010 we more than tripled our financing for renewable-energy exports and that trend is continuing this year,” Hochberg said.
Northern Power Systems is to build the wind turbines at different sites in the Avellino and Benevento provinces in southern Italy.
The turbines will be jointly owned by the special purpose borrowers of the financing, ARG Energie, Eoland and PurEnergy Land, which will sell all of the power produced from the project to government-owned power company Gestore dei Servizi Electtrici.
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