CHICAGO, Sept. 21, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Suzlon Wind Energy Corp., the North American subsidiary of Suzlon Energy Limited (SEL) - the world's fifth largest wind turbine manufacturer - today announced that owners of the Grant County Wind Farm, powered by 10 Suzlon S88-2.1 MW wind turbines, have closed on long-term financing.
The 20 MW site in Grant County, Minn., at full capacity, generates enough electricity to power 7,000 homes.
"This marks a major milestone in that Grant County is the first wind farm in the U.S. developed exclusively with Suzlon turbines to secure long-term financing. It underscores the continued confidence customers have in getting a good return on their investment in our flagship S88 machine," said Andris Cukurs, CEO of Suzlon Wind Energy Corp.
Energy generation at the Grant County Wind Farm began in March 2010. Performance has been excellent, with total wind farm availability numbers exceeding 98 percent. New Jersey-based Olympus Power initially entered into the wind farm's purchase from Suzlon and Juhl Wind in March 2011 and, with today's announcement, completed long-term financing.
Olympus' financing agreement, arranged with Prudential Capital Group, includes a purchase of $20MM in senior secured notes for a term of 18.8 years and fixed interest.
For more information on Suzlon, please visit: www.suzlon.com.
About Suzlon Wind Energy Corporation
Suzlon Wind Energy Corporation focuses on the North American market and is a subsidiary of Suzlon Energy Limited, India. The headquarters for North America is based in Chicago, Illinois. Sales and service offices are located throughout the U.S.
About Suzlon Group:
The Suzlon Group is ranked as the world's fifth largest* wind turbine supplier, in terms of cumulative installed capacity, at the end of 2010. The company's global spread extends across Asia, Australia, Europe, Africa and North and South America with over 17,000 MW of wind energy capacity installed in 25 countries, operations across 32 countries, a workforce of over 13,000 and revenues of approximately US$ 4 billion. The Group offers one of the most comprehensive product portfolios - ranging from sub-megawatt on-shore turbines at 600 Kilowatts (KW), to the world's largest commercial 6.15 MW offshore turbine - built on a vertically integrated, low-cost, manufacturing base. The Group - headquartered at Suzlon One Earth on Pune, India - comprises Suzlon Energy Limited and its subsidiaries, including REpower Systems AG in which the company holds ~95 per cent share. Visit us at www.suzlon.com
About Olympus Power, LLC
Olympus Power, LLC, is a U.S. independent power company headquartered in Morristown, NJ, focused on acquiring, owning and operating electric generation facilities. Olympus presently has eight operating facilities with a gross capacity of 640 MW. For more information on Olympus, please visit www.olympuspower.com.
About Prudential Capital Group
Prudential Capital Group has been a leading provider of private debt capital to middle market companies worldwide for more than 70 years. Prudential Capital Group is one of the world's largest providers of private placements. Prudential Capital Group is an investment business of Prudential Financial Inc., a financial services leader with approximately $883 billion of assets under management (as of June 30, 2011).
Source: *BTM Consult ApS - A part of Navigant Consulting - World Market Update 2010.
Press Contacts:
USA:
Suzlon North American Headquarters
Michelle Montague c/o Andris Cukurs
Tel: 773.328.5080
Michelle.Montague@Suzlon.com
Edelman Public Relations
Mike Aabram
Tel: 312.297.7021
Mike.Aabram@Edelman.com
SOURCE Suzlon Wind Energy Corp.
