U.S. Gov’t Loans $64.5M for Gamesa wind turbines in Uruguay

Gamesa, one of the world’s largest wind energy companies, has announced that it has installed a total of 30 GW worth of wind power.

The Export-Import Bank of the United States is giving a $64.5 million direct loan to a company in Uruguay for the purchase of wind turbines made by a Spanish company Gamesa at one of its plants in Pennsylvania.

The  $64.5 million direct loan to Astidey S.A. , in Montevideo, Uruguay is for the purchase of U.S.-manufactured wind turbines being exported by Gamesa Technology Corporation Inc., headquartered in Feasterville-Trevose, Penn..

Gamesa, a Spain-based company, has offices around the world, including three in the United States: two in Pennsylvania (Fairless Hills and Trevose) and one in Minneapolis, Minn.

The Ex-Im Bank, which was initially chartered by Congress in 1934 and is up for renewal in September,  is supposed to finance and insure the purchase of U.S. goods by foreign entities. The bank calls itself an “independent federal agency that creates and maintains U.S. jobs by filling gaps in private export financing at no cost to American taxpayers.”

The Gamesa plant in Pennsylvania will supply, transport, and install 25 wind turbines for the Talas de Maciel wind farm in Uruguay. The deal includes Gamesa’s operation of and maintenance on the wind turbines for 20 years.

The wind turbines funded by the loan will be exported from the Gamesa factory in  Feasterville-Trevose, Pennsylvania.

This is the second time the Ex-Im Bank has authorized funds for wind transactions in Uruguay.

According to the bank, “in fiscal year 2013, Ex-Im Bank authorized a $72.6 million loan to support Gamesa’s exports to Palmatir S.A., in Uruguay. The Bank has also supported Gamesa’s exports to wind energy projects in Costa Rica and Honduras, including the Cerro de Hula project in Honduras, the largest wind farm in Latin America.”

On April 6, 2011, President Obama visited a separate Gamesa plant in Fair Hills, Pennsylvania to host a discussion about “building a 21st century clean energy economy to win the future.”

“The Administration has bolstered the market for wind turbines, solar panels and other renewable electricity technologies; over the last two years, this program has supported more than 7,000 renewable energy projects representing more than $21 billion in investment, and the addition of nearly 10 gigawatts of renewable electricity generation capacity,” said the White House. “These programs have supported investment and job creation at clean energy companies like Gamesa, the first overseas wind manufacturer to set up full production facilities in the United States.”