Etrion closes financing for 9.5-MW solar project in Japan

Solar power producer Etrion Corp (STO:ETX) today said it has closed USD 29 million (EUR 26.2m) of project financing for a 9.5-MW solar project in Japan.

The project is 60% owned by Etrion. Tamagawa Holdings Co Ltd, the initial developer, retains a 30% interest, while Hitachi High-Tech, which will be building the project, owns the remaining 10%.

About 85% of the total project cost will be financed through project debt from Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank Ltd. The about 15% equity portion will be funded pro-rata by the project owners.

This is Etrion's third utility-scale solar project in Japan. Under a development agreement with Hitachi High-Tech, signed in 2012, the company targets 100 MW either under construction or shovel-ready by the first half of 2017.

The 9.5-MW Aomori solar power project is located in Misawa city in the Aomori prefecture. It consists of four site, to be fully operational by the third quarter of 2017. Construction-related works are scheduled to start this month.

Each site will get JPY 36 (USD 0.35/EUR 0.32) per kWh under a 20-year power purchase agreement (PPA) with the Tohoku Electric Power utility.

"Japan continues to be our main focus and I expect more projects to reach financial close in the near future," said Marco Northland, Etrion's chief executive. The company also has solar capacity in Italy and Chile.

(JPY 100 = USD 0.976/EUR 0.882)

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