Yingli Green Energy Holding Company Limited(NYSE: YGE) ("Yingli Green Energy" or the "Company"), a leading solar energy company and one of the world's largest vertically integrated photovoltaic ("PV") manufacturers, which markets its products under the brand "Yingli Solar", announced a module performance warranty insurance agreement (the "Agreement") with one of Munich Re's specialty primary insurers. According to the Agreement, Yingli Green Energy and Munich Re will provide additional economic security for large-scale commercial and utility project developers, investors and debt providers. The Agreement will cover Yingli Green Energy's multicrystalline modules sold from October 1, 2012 to September 30, 2013.
In the event of an unexpectedly large performance loss below guaranteed performance specification, Munich Re indemnifies Yingli Green Energy for its performance warranty obligations. The Agreement covers the 10-year and the 25-year warranty on all multicrystalline Yingli Solar modules. It guarantees that within ten years multicrystalline Yingli Solar modules exhibit a power output of no less than 91.2% of the nominal power output specified on the module's original product label. Furthermore it covers multicrystalline modules within 25 years exhibiting a power output of no less than 80.7% of the nominal power output as specified on its original product label.
As an additional feature, Munich Re offers the complementary Option Cover insurance available to customers of Yingli Green Energy unlocking investment and financing capital.
"Our state-of-the-art manufacturing lines and choice of suppliers have conveyed trust and reliability to banks, investors and rating agencies. Our partnership with Munich Re serves as another powerful edge for differentiation in a highly-competitive market environment," commented Mr. Liansheng Miao, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Yingli Green Energy.
"This strategic alliance with one of the world's leading insurers represents an important milestone in the technical and performance de-risking of photovoltaic projects, thereby lowering the financing barriers that our customers experience during a business cycle where banks are more conservative," said Darren Thompson, Managing Director of Yingli Green Energy International AG.
"As utility scale project sizes continue to grow across the region, we have secured a module performance warranty insurance policy to support the reduction in cost of capital that will particularly benefit commercial and utility scale projects. This exemplifies once more our dedication to customer support at every stage of project development," said Robert Petrina, Managing Director of Yingli Americas.
"We are delighted to have concluded this contract to support Yingli in their forward-looking global growth plan. With our expertise, we can assume very special renewable energy risks and help provide greater investment security. We see considerable growth potential in risk transfer solutions for renewable energy," said Thomas Blunck, member of Munich Re's Board of Management.