Gamesa News: Export-Import Bank approves $61.1 Million for export of U.S.-made wind turbines to Costa Rica

The Export-Import Bank of the United States (Ex-Im Bank) has approved a $61.1 million direct loan to Inversiones Eolicas de Orosi Dos S.A. (Orosi), a subsidiary of the leading Central American wind-generation company Globeleq Mesoamerica Energy, for the purchase of wind-turbine generators manufactured by Gamesa in Fairless Hills, Pa.

The authorization, which represents Ex-Im Bank’s first wind transaction in Costa Rica and fourth utility-scale wind project overall, will support approximately 200 U.S. jobs, according to bank estimates derived from Departments of Commerce and Labor data and methodology.

“We at Ex-Im Bank continue to support renewable-energy projects that improve our environment and showcase American innovation,” said Ex-Im Bank Chairman and President Fred P. Hochberg. “Our financing will help Gamesa expand their export of renewable energy technology and in the process support U.S. jobs throughout the wind industry.”

Gamesa’s wind-turbine generators are the chosen technology for the 50 megawatt Orosi wind-farm project located in the province of Guanacaste. Costa Rica is currently focusing on different renewable-energy projects.

Founded in 1976, Gamesa has manufactured wind turbines since 1994. To date, Gamesa has installed and commissioned wind farms in 42 countries with a total capacity exceeding 27,000 megawatts. “Ex-Im Bank has been at the vanguard of President Obama’s national export initiative,” said David Flitterman, chairman of Gamesa North America.

“The bank has facilitated a number of export projects for Gamesa, including the Orosi project, and continues to work with us to create new opportunities for growth and expansion. With their competitive rates and expertise, Ex-Im Bank is opening up new markets and opportunities for U.S.-manufactured goods, and that’s increasing investments at home and sustaining American jobs across the supply chain.”

Ex-Im Bank is an independent federal agency that creates and maintains U.S. jobs by filling gaps in private export financing at no cost to American taxpayers. In the past five years (from Fiscal Year 2008), Ex-Im Bank has earned for U.S. taxpayers nearly $1.6 billion above the cost of operations. The Bank provides a variety of financing mechanisms, including working capital guarantees, export-credit insurance and financing to help foreign buyers purchase U.S. goods and services.

Ex-Im Bank approved $35.8 billion in total authorizations in FY 2012 – an all-time Ex-Im record. This total includes more than $6.1 billion directly supporting small-business export sales – also an Ex-Im record. Ex-Im Bank’s total authorizations are supporting an estimated $50 billion in U.S. export sales and approximately 255,000 American jobs in communities across the country.