Evergreen Solar is working with the Export-Import Bank of the United States (Ex-Im Bank) to offer low-interest financing for solar projects using Evergreen String Ribbon PVpanels outside of the United States. The company said that the program is intended to spur the export of U.S.-made renewable energy products and is part of a mandate in Ex-Im Bank’s Congressional Charter.
Evergreen Solar said that its customers have almost 90MW of projects in varying stages of the loan application process with Ex-Im Bank.
The Ex-Im Bank will provide U.S. Dollar denominated loans directly to project developers or project owners that will cover 85% of the U.S.-made product cost and up to an additional 30% of the cost of the product to be applied to local installation costs, according to Evergreen.
Remaining project costs can be financed with separate bank loans as needed. For example, a solar project using $10 million of Evergreen Solar panels would receive up to $8.5 million in financing for the purchase of the solar panels and up to $3 million to cover installation, design, engineering, inverting, racking, and other installation-related expenses.
Ex-Im Bank offers a 4.9% fixed interest rate over an 18-year period for solar installations outside of the United States.
The final approval process can range from a few weeks to three months, depending on the loan type.
“At a time when many companies are struggling to attain credit for capital expenditures in a difficult financial market, the Ex-Im Bank’s office of renewable energy has been extremely helpful in offering a significant financing tool for our international partners which greatly assists us in our continued business success outside of the U.S.,” said Terry Bailey, Evergreen Solar’s SVP of sales and marketing. “Our international customers have been very enthusiastic about this added benefit we can offer them as a U.S. manufacturer.”
To find our more details about the Ex-Im Bank offering or apply for a loan as part of the program, customers should work directly with Evergreen’s Ex-Im Bank support specialist.
