LOS ANGELES, Sept. 24 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Wells Fargo & Company and HSH Nordbank AG today announced they are investors in SunEdison's SunE Solar Fund III, a fund designated to deploy at least 20 megawatts (MW) of solar photovoltaic power at SunEdison customer sites nationwide. The investment will help commercial companies avoid upfront capital costs and purchase clean, solar electricity under long-term predictable pricing at rates equal to, or lower than, traditional utility rates.
"We're excited to collaborate with SunEdison and HSH Nordbank in this innovative financing structure that helps propel solar power into the mainstream as a cost-effective, clean renewable energy solution," said Barry Neal, director of Environmental Finance for Wells Fargo. "This investment is part of our broader strategy to finance business opportunities that help to mitigate climate change, increase energy and resource efficiency, and spur a transition towards a sustainable energy economy."
According to Klaus Bernhart, global head of Energy at HSH Nordbank, "Companies want to utilize solar programs in increasingly larger scale. SunEdison has simplified deploying solar across their customer's fleets of buildings, by guiding them in understanding how solar makes financial sense. We are pleased to be part of the SunE Solar Fund III."
SunEdison provides solar for organizations, such as City of San Diego, Sacramento Municipal Utilities District, California State University, Xcel Energy, Kohl's, and Staples, via the power purchase agreement model (PPA). Under the PPA model, SunEdison builds, finances, manages, and operates the solar systems.
"The lead investors in these funds truly had vision about the PPA business model and the impact this could have for commercial enterprises, government agencies and traditional utilities," said Thomas (Tom) Rainwater, CEO of SunEdison. "SunEdison helps leading organizations decide where and when it makes financial sense to deploy solar and does that with no upfront capital costs to those customers. For traditional utilities, the model means that they can simplify the process of meeting renewable energy standards. It's a win-win-win for the environment, SunEdison customers, and SunEdison stakeholders."
For a complete list of SunEdison solar power plants, please go to http://www.sunedison.com/installations. With the SunE Solar Fund III, SunEdison has raised financing for more than $250,000,000 of solar installations, since inception. HSH Nordbank and US Solar Finance Partners, LLC structured and arranged the financing.
About SunEdison
Sun Edison, LLC is North America's largest solar energy services provider. SunEdison provides solar-generated energy at or below current retail utility rates to a broad and diverse client base of commercial, municipal and utility customers. For more information about SunEdison, please visit http://www.sunedison.com/. The company headquarters is located in Beltsville, Md.
About HSH Nordbank
HSH Nordbank AG, a German bank with headquarters in Hamburg and Kiel, is a strong regional bank in Northern Europe with total assets of 200 billion euro and 4,400 employees worldwide. HSH Nordbank is an acknowledged partner of the capital markets and an international sector specialist.
The New York Branch of the Bank is engaged in a range of banking activities such as extending credit and providing banking services to American and international companies in certain industries, including transportation and energy. HSH Nordbank is a global leader in renewable energy finance. The New York Branch is also involved in the financing of commercial real estate in select U.S. markets. In addition, the New York Branch engages in capital markets and the management of an investment portfolio. The New York Branch also manages the Bank's Representative Office in San Francisco.
For more information please visit our website at http://www.hsh-nordbank.com/.
About Wells Fargo
Wells Fargo & Company is a diversified financial services company with $540 billion in assets, providing banking, insurance, investments, mortgage and consumer finance through almost 6,000 stores and the internet (wellsfargo.com) across North America and internationally. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. is the only bank in the U.S., and one of only two banks worldwide, to have the highest credit rating from both Moody's Investors Service, "Aaa," and Standard & Poor's Ratings Services, "AAA." Wells Fargo integrates environmental responsibility into its business, is one of the top purchasers of green power in the country, and has entered into binding commitments to invest more than $250 million in solar and wind energy projects since 2006.
