Tomen Announces 200 Million Euro Project Finance Loan for 200 Megawatt Capacity Wind Power Projects in Spain; Loan Agreement Called One of the World's Largest for Wind Power
2002-08-05
| Tomen announced today that Tomen Power (Europe) B.V. concluded a 200 million Euro (approximately 23 billion yen) loan agreement in form of project financing with Hypo Vereinsbank, AG, a leading bank of Germany, on July 30, 2002 for its six wind power generation project companies in Spain. | |  |
Tomen Power (Europe) invested a 50 % stake in the six project companies, which are developing the wind power generation projects with a total power output capacity of 201,200 kilowatts in Galicia State and Asturias State of Northern Spain. In terms of scale, the loan is the world's largest for project financing of wind power projects and is the first agreement to provide such a large loan at one time for a series of large wind power projects. The loan covers approximately 80 % of the total project cost of approximately 29 billion yen.
Tomen Power (Europe), based in the Netherlands, a wholly owned subsidiary of Tomen Power Holding Corp. of Japan, which operates its global clean energy wind power projects, is managing and operating Tomen's wind power generation projects in Europe.
| The project companies will complete construction of the wind power generation plants at six locations in 2003 and will sell electricity to regional electric companies, Union Fenosa in Galicia State and Electra de Viesgo in Asturias State, based on power purchase agreements. | |  |
The loan will be distributed in six parts when each project company completes its plant construction. The term of repayment is 15 years. The project companies repay capital and its interest on the loan, sourcing their long-term stable income from the electric companies by sales of wind power generation. The long-term stable income itself is a security for the loan. The project finance loan reinforces the debt portion of the project cost on a non-recourse basis.
The loan agreement for the six projects is part of Tomen's large wind power development projects in Spain. In 1996, Tomen Power (Europe) formed a joint venture company EuroVento with Terra Nova Energy, a leading wind power developer in the U.S.A., to develop and build wind power plants in Spain. In the same year, the Galicia State Government awarded EuroVento the first option rights to development for the next ten years to build wind power plants capable of generating a total of 525,000 kilowatts of electricity. The project in Asturias State has also been developed by EuroVento.
In Spain, a series of large wind power projects have been rapidly developed since 1997, backed by support from regional and central governments. By the end of 2001, wind power generation plants with the total output capacity of 3,550,000 kilowatts were in operation. Spain is now the country with the third largest wind power generation capability in the world, following Germany, and the U.S.A.
Tomen currently operates wind power projects with 130,000 kilowatts of capacity in Spain. After completion of the six projects with 201,200 kilowatts capacity by summer 2003, Tomen will be operating wind power plants with a total output capacity of 331,200 kilowatts in Spain. This represents approximately 10% of Spain's wind power generation capacity.
Mr. Toshio Hori, Chairman of the Board, Tomen Power Holding Corp., said, "The wind power projects all over the world reflect Tomen's commitment to promoting the production of clean energy and maintaining a sustainable environment worldwide. Spain's favorable positions on renewable energy are models for Japan and other governments which want to protect the country's environment."
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