Nippon Solar Services signs financing with ING for solar project in Japan

Nippon Solar Services (NSS) closed project financing with ING Bank as senior debt lenders for a total amount of JPY 12.1 billion.  This financing is for a utility-scale solar photovoltaic (PV) power plant with a total generation capacity of 33 megawatts (MW) located in the Ōita Prefecture in Kyushu, Japan.

Olivier Renon, Managing Director of NSS, added:

“This is our largest financial closing to date in Japan and a considerable milestone for our company.  We want to thank all the advisors involved in this transaction for their support.  We are looking forward to closing more financings of this type for our current pipeline of utility-scale solar PV projects in Japan in the months to come.”

The commencement of plant construction is scheduled for the first quarter of 2016 with operations starting in 2018, both of which will be managed by NSS. Engineering, procurement and construction is being undertaken by LG CNS Japan.  The plant uses solar panels manufactured by LG and inverters by TMEIC.

Franck Constant, President of Sonnedix, the major investor in the project, commented:

“Sonnedix has successfully worked with ING Bank to finance solar projects in our portfolio in Europe, and we are pleased to see a similar relationship forming between our Japanese operator, NSS, and ING Bank.”

Erwin Maspolim, ING Bank’s Head of Utilities & Infrastructure Asia, said

“The Oita solar PV project will be an excellent addition to ING Bank’s global renewable financing portfolio.  We are especially honored to support Nippon Solar Services in one of the longest tenor solar PV project financings issued by a foreign bank in Japan.  We are positive about the growth of solar PV projects in Japan and other Asian countries and we hope to further expand our business in this area.”