Etrion Announces Solar Projects in Japan of 138 MW
Etrion Corporation, a solar independent power producer, has announced an update on its solar photovoltaic projects under construction and development in Japan.
Marco A. Northland, Etrion's Chief Executive Officer, commented: "I am very pleased with the significant progress our Japanese team has achieved to date in construction and development. Etrion is one of the first foreign companies to gain traction in utility-scale solar power generation in Japan. We have 34 MW under construction and more than 138 MW under development in Japan. I am confident we will meet our target with Hitachi High-Tech of delivering shovel-ready or under-construction projects in Japan totalling 100 MW by 2015 and 300 MW by 2017."
Mr. Northland continued, "Japan is a large net importer of fossil fuels, has low financing costs and attractive government incentives to reduce the country's dependence on nuclear power. This combination of factors makes Japan one of the largest, fast-growing solar markets in the world." Japanese Projects under Construction (34 MW)
As previously announced, Etrion started construction in Q4-2014 on 34 MW in Japan owned 87 percent by Etrion and 13 percent by Hitachi High-Technologies Corporation. The 9.3 MW Mito and the 24.7 MW Shizukuishi power plants are being built by Hitachi High-Tech and are expected to be operational in 2015 and 2016, respectively. Mito is a 9.3 MW utility-scale solar photovoltaic ("PV") power project including five sites under construction in the Ibaraki Prefecture of Japan. Construction began in October 2014, and the first drawdown on the non-recourse senior loan facility from Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank was executed in December 2014.
In Q4-2014, the project company entered into two of the five planned 20-year power purchase agreements ("PPAs") with Tokyo Electric Power Company ("TEPCO") under which the project company will receive ¥40 per kilowatt-hour ("kWh") produced (approximately US$0.33 per kWh). The remaining three PPAs are expected to be signed by March 2015.
Construction is proceeding on schedule with the estimated connection dates for each site expected between May and August 2015, more than five months earlier than previously announced.
Shizukuishi is a 24.7 MW utility-scale solar PV power plant under construction on one site in the Iwate Prefecture of Japan. Construction-related works began in October 2014, and the first drawdown on the non-recourse senior loan facility from Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank was executed in September 2014. In Q3-2014, the project company entered into a 20-year PPA with Tohoku Electric Power Co., Inc. to receive ¥40 per kWh produced (approximately US$0.33 per kWh). Construction works are proceeding on schedule, and the project is expected to connect to the grid in July 2016, five months earlier than previously announced.2 Japanese Advanced Project Development Pipeline (138 MW)
In 2012, Etrion and Hitachi High-Tech signed an agreement to develop a pipeline of solar assets in Japan. In addition to the 34 MW already under construction, the joint development team is reviewing a large pipeline of opportunities in different stages of development and in different stages of negotiation with third parties. The four most advanced projects total 138 MW and are outlined below. Etrion expects to own 70 to 85 percent in the Japanese projects, with Hitachi High-Tech and/or local development partners owning the remainder.
Japan Greenfield Project 1 is a 24 MW solar project in southern Japan with the Feed-in-Tariff ("FiT") and land contract secured. The project is expected to be shovel-ready by Q1-2016. Japan Brownfield Project 1 is a 50 MW solar project in southern Japan with the FiT secured, land contract secured and grid impact studies completed. Etrion has secured exclusivity with the developer, and the project is expected to be shovel-ready by Q4-2015.
Japan Brownfield Project 2 is a 14 MW solar project in central Japan with the FiT secured, land contract secured and grid impact studies completed. The project is expected to be shovel-ready by H2-2015. Japan Brownfield Project 3 is a 50 MW solar project in northern Japan with the FiT in progress, land contract secured and grid impact studies in progress. Etrion has secured exclusivity with the developer, and the project is expected to be shovel-ready by H2-2015.
These projects may be replaced by other projects within the next twelve months in order to accelerate construction or improve project economics.
Etrion plans to finance its projects under development through the most efficient combination of cash on hand, non-recourse project loans, corporate debt and/or equity financing.
On October 16, 2014, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry ("METI") in Japan set-up a working group to address concerns issued by certain utilities regarding grid congestion as a result of the large number of applications submitted from solar developers. The subcommittee reviewed the current METI approval process and provided recommendations for the FiT scheme for future projects, as well as measures to deal with grid capacity issues and curtailment. Management believes the development projects described above should not be affected by these recent proposals, which should provide greater clarity on the grid connection process for these and future projects.