• Effort to support US exports for renewable energy and water projects
WASHINGTON, DC, July 11, 2007 -- The Export-Import Bank of the United States (Ex-Im Bank) will continue for another two years to extend export financing on repayment terms of up to 15 years for U.S. exports of goods and services to be used in renewable energy and water projects. The longer repayment terms are available under Ex-Im Bank's medium-term financing products in accord with an agreement of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) that permits export credit agencies of OECD countries to offer enhanced terms for renewable energy and water projects for an additional two-year trial period through June 20, 2009.
Eligible for the 15-year repayment term are U.S. exports for the following renewable energy projects: wind, solar photovoltaic, solar thermal, geothermal, ocean thermal, tidal and tidal stream power, wave power, and bio- energy. Also eligible are U.S. exports associated with the following water projects: treatment and distribution of municipal drinking water, collection and treatment of residential and industrial wastewater, water recycling and treatment of water-related sludge.
"Ex-Im Bank's support for commercial loans to foreign buyers on repayments terms of up to 15 years can be a significant asset for U.S. exporters competing for renewable energy and water-related projects," said Ex-Im Bank Vice Chairman Linda Mysliwy Conlin, who heads Ex-Im Bank's Environmental Exports Program. "The ability to offer extended repayment terms can help U.S. exporters win international contracts for these kinds of projects, which generally require a longer period to become profitable and generate the revenue needed to repay the loan."
In 2006, PowerLight Corporation of Berkeley, Calif., (now wholly owned by SunPower Corporation) benefited from an Ex-Im Bank guarantee of a 15-year loan from city National Bank of Los Angeles to support its development and deployment of a 1-megawatt solar power project in Gwangju, Korea. The privately owned project employs PowerLight's Power Tracker™ system mounted over a parking facility at the Kim Dae Jung Exhibition and Convention Center, located approximately 200 miles south of Seoul. The project was the first to receive a 15-year repayment term under Ex-Im Bank's Environmental Exports Program, which provides enhanced financing for U.S. exports of environmentally beneficial goods and services.
Ex-Im Bank, the official export credit agency of the United States, is in its 73rd year of assisting in the financing of U.S. exports, primarily to emerging markets throughout the world, by providing loan guarantees, export- credit insurance and direct loans. In fiscal year 2006, Ex-Im Bank authorized more than $12.1 billion, including nearly $3.2 billion for small-business authorizations, to support an estimated $16.1 billion of U.S. exports.
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