NextEra wraps up $935m finance for 250 MW Genesis Concentrating Solar Power

A unit of NextEra Energy Inc , the largest US renewable energy operator, said it secured $935 million in construction and term financing to build a 250-megawatt concentrated solar thermal power generating facility in California.

NextEra Energy Resources, LLC, announced that its subsidiary, Genesis Solar, LLC, has closed on construction and term financing consisting of $702 million in project bonds, a $150 million project term loan facility and an $83 million project letter of credit facility. The U.S. Department of Energy has provided a loan guarantee of 80 percent of the principal and interest on the project bonds and project term loan under its Financial Institution Partnership Program. Proceeds from the financing will be used primarily for the construction of the Genesis project, a 250-megawatt utility-scale concentrating solar thermal generating facility featuring proven parabolic trough solar thermal technology, located in Riverside County, Calif.

“This financing marks a significant milestone in the development of the Genesis project,” said Armando Pimentel, executive vice president and chief financial officer of NextEra Energy, Inc., the parent of NextEra Energy Resources. “We are very pleased with both the strong investor reception for this financing, which we view as a validation of our solar development efforts, and the receipt of a loan guarantee from the Department of Energy Loan Programs Office.”

Credit Suisse served as the lender applicant for the loan guarantee, the initial purchaser of the project bonds and the lender under the project term loan facility. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria provided the letter of credit facility.

The securities offered have not been and will not be registered under the Securities Act or any state securities laws, and may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration under, or an applicable exemption from, the registration requirements of the Securities Act and applicable state securities laws. This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy, nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any state or jurisdiction in which such an offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful.

NextEra Energy Resources, LLC, is a clean energy leader and one of the largest competitive energy suppliers in North America. A subsidiary of Juno Beach, Fla.-based NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE: NEE), NextEra Energy Resources is the largest generator in North America of renewable energy from the wind and sun. It operates clean, emissions-free nuclear power generation facilities in New Hampshire, Iowa and Wisconsin as part of the NextEra Energy nuclear fleet, which is the third largest in the United States. NextEra Energy had 2010 revenues of more than $15 billion, nearly 43,000 megawatts of generating capacity, and approximately 15,000 employees in 28 states and Canada.

www.NextEraEnergyResources.com