Siemens Financial Services (SFS) has signed the financing agreements for three photovoltaic plants in Corsica, France, with total capacity of about 9 megawatts (MWp) of renewable energy.
Siemens Financial Services (SFS) announces that it has signed the financing agreements for three photovoltaic plants in Corsica, France, for a total amount of EUR 31.1 million. The three photovoltaic plants, Calenzana, Coti and Méria, have a total capacity of about 9 megawatts (MWp) of renewable energy. This transaction is SFS’s Project & Structured Finance Energy (PSF-E) business unit’s first European project as sole lender and arranger. The Project’s investment cost will be financed through a combination of equity and debt, with PSF-E providing the total debt amount. At present, all three plants are fully constructed and have received necessary technical certificates for grid connection.
The three plants, Calenzana, Coti and Méria, have been developed by Eco Delta (ED), an independent company that operates in the wind and solar sectors in France, and an important Siemens customer. Siemens Energy has been awarded the construction and operation contracts of the Coti and Méria plants, to which the financing offer provided by SFS was a strong added-value. Besides acting as EPC (Engineering, Procurement, and Construction) and O&M (Operation and Maintenance) provider, Siemens supplied its own inverters for the two projects.
“Financing this solar project further demonstrates our strategy of supporting the Siemens sectors and their clients with innovative capital solutions,” said Kirk Edelman, CEO of the Project & Structured Finance Energy business unit of Siemens Financial Services. “Combining Siemens’ advanced technologies and technical services with comprehensive financial solutions provide significant added-value to our customers.”
The Corsica solar project is the second deal in which Siemens Energy, SFS PSF-E, and Eco Delta (ED) have partnered together. In 2011, Siemens put the Les Mées solar farm at Alpes-de-Haute-Provence in the south of France on line which can generate a combined peak output of 31 megawatts, supplying approximately 12,000 French households with electricity. SFS PSF-E also participated in the financing of the Les Mées transaction, providing EUR 25 million of the total debt amount raised.
Astris Finance acted as financial advisor to Eco Delta, whereas Clifford Chance was legal advisor to the lender.
The Siemens Financial Services (SFS) is an international provider of business-to-business financial solutions. SFS helps facilitate investments, providing commercial finance, project and structured finance and leveraged finance solutions with specific asset expertise in the energy, healthcare, industry, and infrastructure and cities markets. Employing more than 2,600 employees worldwide, SFS supports Siemens as well as other companies with their capital needs and acts as an expert manager of financial risks within the Siemens Group. As of 30 September 2011, the total assets amounted to EUR 14.6 billion.