SunEdison, Inc. and Wells Fargo & Company, announced that Wells Fargo subsidiaries plan to invest more than $100 million of tax equity financing in 2013 and 2014 combined to fund U.S. solar photovoltaic distributed generation power projects developed by SunEdison. These new investments build on the relationship that first began between Wells Fargo and SunEdison in 2007. Since 2007, Wells Fargo has provided more than $950 million of tax equity and construction financing for more than 200 utility and distributed generation solar projects developed by SunEdison. The projects are located in thirteen U.S. states and in Puerto Rico.
“SunEdison continues to work to make solar an economically viable energy solution for its customers. Wells Fargo has been an important part of our success story, which includes over 400 megawatts of distributed generation solar projects interconnected around the world, " said Carlos Domenech, President of SunEdison Capital. “SunEdison relies on strong partners such as Wells Fargo to deliver on our vision. We look forward to growing our relationship with Wells Fargo as we continue to make solar a reality for our customers throughout the United States and around the world."
Financing provided by Wells Fargo has enabled SunEdison to cost-effectively provide a clean and reliable source of predictably priced electricity to its customers, including corporations and municipalities. Under the power purchase agreement (PPA) model, SunEdison builds, manages and operates the solar systems while its customers buy the energy produced for a fixed rate for a term of approximately 20 years. This allows customers to avoid upfront costs typically associated with solar projects and protects them from the fluctuating costs of fossil fuels.
"Wells Fargo is excited to continue our relationship with SunEdison and expand our commitment to the U.S. solar market," said Barry Neal, head of Wells Fargo's Environmental Finance Group. "The solar projects developed by SunEdison will help businesses and public entities better control their electricity costs, while expanding the use of renewable energy throughout the U.S."