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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