SunEdison has secured non-recourse project financing from Japan-based Shinsei Bank for its Tarumizu project, a 9.6 MW utility scale solar PV power plant being built in Japan. The Tarumizu project is one of the first utility scale solar projects built by a US company in Japan to receive non-recourse funding from a leading Japanese bank.
"This project is a significant milestone for SunEdison in the growing Japanese renewable energy industry," said Netoshi Kuriyama, Representative Director and Country Manager for Japan at SunEdison. "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."
The electricity will be used to power some 3,000 households on the southern Japanese island of Kyushu, contributing to Japan's renewable energy industry and to the electrification of rural Japan. Shinsei Bank will be lending SunEdison 80% of the total project cost for the 9.6 MW project. The financing agreement was signed in January and the first drawdown occurred on February 24th. The project is expected to achieve commercial operation in September of 2015.