Macquarie to acquire 20 MW solar PV project in Ontario from SunPower

On June 23, 2010, Macquarie announced an agreement to acquire a 20 MW solar PV power project in Amherstburg, Ontario to be designed, built and operated on behalf of Macquarie by SunPower.

The approximate $130 million project will be primarily funded by a syndicate of international lenders with approximately $33 million of equity to be contributed by Macquarie upon the start of commercial operations, which is anticipated to be in June 2011. When completed, the Amherstburg Solar Park will be one of the largest solar power facilities in Canada and is expected to produce approximately 37,600 megawatt hours of electricity annually. Construction of the Amherstburg Solar Park is expected to start immediately using local resources and is expected to create up to 100 jobs in the County of Essex.

SunPower will complete the Amherstburg Solar Park under a fixed-price engineering, procurement and construction contract. SunPower will also provide operations and maintenance services for the facility under a 20-year contract. Electricity generated by the facility will be sold under the Province of Ontario's Renewable Energy Standard Offer Program to the Ontario Power Authority at a guaranteed price of $420 per MWh for the next 20 years. For the first two years of commercial operations, SunPower will financially support the performance of the facility at the expected production.