Wind Energy

Ex-Im Bank Chairman to Visit Wind-Energy Factory in Fairless Hills, Pennsylvania

To highlight the commitment of the Obama Administration to creating U.S. jobs by boosting exports from the renewable-energy sector, Chairman of the Export-Import Bank of the United States (Ex-Im Bank) Fred P. Hochberg will visit the factory of Gamesa Wind US in Fairless Hills, Pa., on Wednesday, February 9.

Hochberg will meet with Gamesa North America CEO Dirk Matthys and other company representatives at Gamesa’s wind turbines facility in Fairless Hills, which was built on the site of an abandoned steel-manufacturing plant. The event is open to all media, but advanced sign-in is requested due to security measures.

What: Gamesa Wind US Factory Tour

Date: Wednesday, February 9, 2011

In fiscal year 2010, Ex-Im Bank authorized a $159 million direct loan to finance Gamesa Wind’s export of 51 2-MW wind turbines for the Cerro de Hula Wind Farm – the first utility-scale wind power project in Honduras. It is one of the largest wind power projects in Central America where wind power is needed due to limited energy resources.

The transaction was the first export of Gamesa Wind US from its Pennsylvania factory and the first time that the company has used Ex-Im Bank financing. It was also Ex-Im Bank’s first renewable-energy deal utilizing the Bank’s new carbon-policy incentives, including an 18-year repayment term.

Gamesa Wind US began making wind turbines in the United States in 2006 and has annual production capacity of 1,200MW per year at its two plants in Fairless Hills (northeast of Philadelphia) and Ebensburg (near Johnstown). The company has a total U.S. workforce of 900 employees, approximately 800 of whom work in Pennsylvania. The company is a subsidiary of the Spanish wind-energy company, Gamesa Corporación Technológica, a global corporation focused on wind energy.

Ex-Im Bank, an independent, self-sustaining federal agency, helps create and maintain American jobs by filling gaps in export financing and strengthening U.S. export competitiveness. In fiscal year 2010, the Bank authorized a record high of approximately $24.5 billion in loans, guarantees and insurance, supporting about 230,000 American jobs.

www.exim.gov