Etrion issues green bond and begins construction of 45 MW Niigata solar PV project in Japan

Etrion Corporation has announced the signing, execution and drawdown with respect to a finance agreement for the construction of the 45 megawatts Niigata solar project located in the in the Niigata prefecture in northern Japan. The arranger of the Etrion Green Project Bond, rated BBB, was Goldman Sachs Japan Co., LTD.

Niigata is a 45 MW ground-mounted fixed-tilt solar photovoltaic power project to be built on one site in the Niigata prefecture of Japan. Construction-related works began on July 1, 2019, and the solar project is expected to be fully operational by the fourth quarter of 2021. The plant will be built on 75.7 hectares of owned land and will connect through the Tohoku Electric Power Co., Inc. utility. The project company entered into an effective eighteen-year power purchase agreement with Tohoku and will receive JPY36 per kilowatt-hour of electricity produced (approximately US$0.33 per kWh).

Once operational, Niigata is expected to produce approximately 47 gigawatt-hours of solar electricity per year, enough to supply more than 13,000 Japanese households. In addition, the project is expected to generate average annual revenues from sale of electricity of US$15.5 million, EBITDA of US$13.7 million and free cash flow at project level of US$3.6 million.