OPIC Board Approves $250 Million to Develop 51 Solar Projects in Thailand

(OPIC) WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Board of Directors of the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), the U.S. Government’s development finance institution, approved $250 million in financing to develop 51 solar power plants in Thailand. This first-of-its-kind project will accelerate the growth of the solar industry in Thailand by financing t a large number of solar plants together with local banks.

SunEdison Thailand, a subsidiary of MEMC Electronic Materials, Inc. a U.S.-based technology and solar power development company, will use OPIC financing to construct the new solar photovoltaic power plants generating clean renewable energy for Thailand’s national electric grid. The plants will range in size from one megawatt (MW) to 50MW and, taken together, will generate 520MW.

“We are proud to be supporting Thailand’s goals of shifting to clean, renewable sources of power. This project allows SunEdison to develop a pipeline of solar projects in Thailand that would otherwise require significantly more resources for OPIC to implement on a project-by-project basis,” said OPIC President and CEO Elizabeth Littlefield.

SunEdison is one of North America's largest solar energy services providers. SunEdison pioneered the fully integrated solar energy service provider business model, which provides an integrated solution for the development, design, engineering, installation, financing, monitoring, operations and maintenance of solar power systems. As of June 2011, SunEdison had deployed and/or managed 526 solar power systems representing more than 330 MW of solar energy generating capacity.

MEMC, is the fourth largest global designer and manufacturer of silicon wafers used in semiconductors, the fifth largest manufacturer of silicon wafers used in solar panels, and one of the largest North American solar power developers.