Evergreen Solar, in Cooperation with Export-Import Bank of United States, Offers Low-Interest Loans for Solar Projects Outside of United States

MARLBORO, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Evergreen Solar, Inc. (Nasdaq: ESLR), a manufacturer of STRING RIBBON™ solar power products with its proprietary, low-cost silicon wafer manufacturing technology, today announced it is working with the Export-Import Bank of the United States (Ex-Im Bank) to provide attractive low-interest financing for solar projects using Evergreen Solar panels outside of the United States. The program is intended to spur the export of U.S.-made renewable energy products and is part of a mandate in Ex-Im Bank’s Congressional Charter. Currently, Evergreen Solar customers have almost 90MW of projects in varying stages of the loan application process with Ex-Im Bank.

The Ex-Im Bank will offer U.S. Dollar denominated loans directly to project developers or project owners that will cover 85% of the U.S. made product cost and up to an additional 30% of the cost of the product to be applied to local installation costs. Remaining project costs can be financed with separate bank loans as needed. For example, a solar project using $10 million of Evergreen Solar panels would receive up to $8.5 million in financing for the purchase of the solar panels and up to $3 million to cover installation, design, engineering, inverting, racking and other installation-related expenses. Ex-Im Bank currently offers a 4.9% fixed interest rate over an 18-year period for solar installations outside of the United States.

“At a time when many companies are struggling to attain credit for capital expenditures in a difficult financial market, the Ex-Im Bank’s office of renewable energy has been extremely helpful in offering a significant financing tool for our international partners which greatly assists us in our continued business success outside of the U.S.,” said Terry Bailey, Evergreen Solar’s senior vice president of sales and marketing. “Our international customers have been very enthusiastic about this added benefit we can offer them as a U.S. manufacturer.”

The Ex-Im Bank will also provide guarantees for loans which can be issued in any currency. Ex-Im Bank\'s Loan Guarantee Program provides Loan Guarantees that carry the full faith and credit of the U.S. Government to banks participating under its Master Guarantee Program. Participating banks may be located anywhere in the world where Ex-Im Bank is open to do business. Ex-Im Bank’s Loan Guarantee covers 100% of principal and accrued interest on any amount. The Guaranteed Loans can either be a fixed interest rate or floating rates typically based on a small spread over the 6-month U.S. dollar LIBOR rate. Currently the 6-month LIBOR rate is 1%.

To apply for a loan as part of the Ex-Im Bank program, customers should work directly with Evergreen Solar’s Ex-Im Bank support specialist. The final approval process can range from a few weeks to three months depending on the loan type.