Astris Finance is pleased to announce the closing of limited-recourse debt financing for Sol Orchard Imperial 1 project, a 25MW solar photovoltaic facility located in El Centro, California, developed and owned by Grupo T-Solar.
The financing consists of a $65m construction loan converting to a term loan provided by North American Development Bank acting as Lender and Collateral Agent. The electricity from the project will be sold to the Imperial Irrigation District under a long term contract starting in Q4 2013 when the plant is expected to come online. The El Centro project financing is a significant milestone for T-Solar reflecting its first investment in the United States.
Astris Finance acted as Financial Advisor to T-Solar through project acquisition, commercial and financial structuring, negotiations, due diligence and documentation phases of the transaction. This closing, which represents the fourth solar transaction executed by Astris Finance in the last 18 months, affirms the firm’s track record in the renewable energy sector particularly in the Americas.
T-Solar is a major independent power producer of photovoltaic solar electricity. A subsidiary of Isolux Infrastructure, it has 230MW under operation in Spain, Italy, India and Peru and 55MW under construction or advanced development in the United States and Puerto Rico. Its operational photovoltaic solar power plants generate over 320 GWh a year, the equivalent to the average annual electricity consumption of more than 110,000 inhabitants. In 2012, T-Solar had revenues of $150 million and has invested in excess of $2 billion to date. For further information, please visit www.tsolar.com.