Ex-Im Approves $32.1 Million in Financing For Export of U.S. Wind Blades to Brazil

August 3, 2012

(Ex-Im Bank) Washington, D.C. – In line with its congressional mandate to increase support for renewable-energy exports, the Export-Import Bank of the United States (Ex-Im Bank) has authorized a $32.1 million loan guarantee to Wind Power Energia S.A. of Sao Paulo, Brazil, for the purchase of wind turbine blades manufactured by LM Wind Power Blades Inc. of Little Rock, Ark.

Ex-Im Bank's financing, which guarantees a Bank of America loan, will support approximately 250 permanent American jobs at the company's Little Rock, Ark., and Grand Forks, N.D., manufacturing facilities.

"The Bank's loan guarantee will facilitate the export of American-made products to one of our nine key markets at a critical time," said Ex-Im Bank Chairman and President Fred P. Hochberg. "By doing so, it will simultaneously support American jobs in a valuable industry and boost Brazil's clean-energy prospects."

The wind blades will be used to complete a 180-megawatt wind farm in the Brazilian state of Bahia and another 211-megawatt farm in the Brazilian state of Ceara.

"We welcome the vision and assistance of Ex-Im Bank, which has enabled us to develop a new and growing market opportunity for wind-turbine blades in Brazil," said Richard Pettifor, LM Wind Power's commercial director for the Americas. "As well as developing the Brazilian renewable-energy market and overall production capacity, it will also support the prospect of long-term growth in LM Wind Power's America business with approximately 250 permanent green-energy jobs in Arkansas and North Dakota."

Headquartered in Little Rock, Ark., LM Wind Power Blades is a manufacturer of wind blades and operates facilities in Arkansas and North Dakota. The company is a subsidiary of LM Wind Power, the largest manufacturer of wind-turbine blades in the world.

Wind Power Energia, a subsidiary of Industrias Metalurgicas Pescarmona S.A. of Argentina, designs and manufactures wind turbines for power projects in Brazil and South America. It favors turnkey solutions and currently ranks as the market leader in Brazil. The transaction is the company's first with Ex-Im Bank.

As of the end of FY 2011, Brazil accounted for $2.7 billion of the Bank's worldwide credit exposure. In FY 2012 to date, the Bank has authorized approximately $415 million for renewable-energy exports of all types worldwide.

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