9REN Group Reaches Financial Close for €80MM funding for 22MW of Solar Projects in Italy

July 26, 2010 — 9REN Group, the European renewable energy company owned by global energy investor First Reserve Corporation, completed an €80MM financing for 22 MW of photovoltaic projects in Italy with a syndicate of three banks.   The Unicredit Group and Natixis acted as Initial Mandated Lead Arrangers for the deal with Mediocreval joining as Lender. Unicredit is the Agent of the transaction.

Proceeds will be used to finance a portfolio of five photovoltaic parks, currently under construction in Italy, with a total peak capacity of 22 MW. The parks are located in Apulia region, in the Taranto province (for a total capacity of 14MW) and in Latium region, in the Rome and Latina provinces (for a total capacity of 8MW). 

Project completion is expected by year end and together will bring 9REN’s installed solar capacity to a total of 45 MW.

9REN’s currently has over 300 MW of solar projects under development in Italy, including 40 MW in construction.

About 9REN Group

9REN is a leading European renewable energy company established on April 2008 from the merger of the Spanish contractor 9REN Espana, formerly Gamesa Solar, and the Italian development company Ener3, both acquired by First Reserve Corporation. 9REN is focused on the development, construction, operation, upgrading and ownership of photovoltaic power plants and providing turn-key project management for third parties. 9REN has built over 100MW of photovoltaic power plants, mainly in Spain. The group’s headquarters are in Madrid, Spain, and Rome, Italy.

About First Reserve

First Reserve is the world’s leading energy industry investor, making both private equity and infrastructure investments throughout the energy value chain.  For more than 25 years, it has invested solely in the global energy industry, and has developed an unparalleled franchise, utilizing its broad base of specialized energy industry knowledge as a competitive advantage. First Reserve invests strategically across a wide range of energy industry sectors, developing a portfolio that is diversified across the energy value chain, backing talented management teams and building value by building companies. First Reserve is among the largest private equity investors in renewables with over $1 billion invested and committed in renewables companies to date.   Further information is available at www.firstreserve.com.

For media inquiries, please contact:
9REN Group
Antonella Pellegrini, Communications Manager                 +39 06 32609558 or apellegrini@9ren.org

Kpr&Key
Francesca Zanoni +39 (348) 250 8903 or f.zanoni@kpr-key.it

For First Reserve Corporation
Cubitt Consulting
Caroline Merrell +44 (0)20 7367 5103 or caroline.merrell@cubitt.com

CJP Communications
Caroline Harris   +1 212-279-3115; ext. 222 or charris@cjpcom.com