AES Solar and Met Life Announce the Financing and Start of Construction of its Ilumina Project in Puerto Rico - The First Utility Scale Solar Project on the Island

Date Announced: 30 Sep 2011

Construction of 24 MW Solar Photovoltaic Power Plant will provide 200 jobs.

ARLINGTON, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--AES Solar, a joint venture between The AES Corporation (NYSE: AES) and Riverstone Holdings LLC, announced today that one of its subsidiaries, AES Ilumina, has closed earlier this month on a construction loan, term loan, and tax equity non-recourse financing facilities provided by MetLife, a leading provider of insurance, employee benefits and financial services with operations throughout the United States and the Latin America, Europe and Asia Pacific regions. CP Energy served as financial advisor to AES Solar on this transaction, and Cornerstone Financial Advisors served as financial advisor to MetLife.

AES Ilumina has begun construction of the 24 MW photovoltaic power plant located in Guayama, Puerto Rico. The construction will be led by Global Energy Services, USA, a Philadelphia based construction firm. AES Ilumina will sell all of its output to the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (PREPA) under a 20-year power purchase agreement. It purchased land for the project from the Puerto Rico Industrial Development Company (PRIDCO). The plant is expected to begin production in the summer of 2012. Approximately 200 jobs will be created during construction.

“We are honored to have been selected to develop, finance, and operate Puerto Rico’s first utility scale solar energy project. Ilumina is a good example of how we were able to leverage AES’ existing presence in the market to expand into a renewable platform. This power plant is also the first investment in our planned expansion into the US solar market. We look forward to future investments in order to support further energy diversification on the island,” said Robert Hemphill, CEO of AES Solar.

“The AES Ilumina project is an added value to Puerto Rico’s capacity of attracting foreign direct investment as it addresses our needs of diversifying energy sources, including renewable, clean and plentiful solar energy. We appreciate this partnership with AES Ilumina as it is key to ensure our economic growth,” stated the Secretary of the Department of Economic Development and Commerce and executive director of PRIDCO, Hon. José Pérez-Riera adding that the Ilumina was the first to be awarded economic incentives under new legislation incentivizing investments in renewable energy generation.

Source: AES Solar

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