SunEdison backs SunFarmer’s Nepal solar project - report

Dec 9, 2013 - SunEdison Inc (NYSE:SUNE), former MEMC Electronic Materials Inc, will provide a USD-2-million (EUR 1.5m) grant to solar power projects developer SunFarmer for a photovoltaic (PV) plant in Nepal, Bloomberg said Friday.

New York-based SunFarmer will construct five solar stations at clinics and hospitals in the first quarter of next year, the firm’s co-founder Andy Moon told Bloomberg by phone. The projects will be developed under a contract with the government of Nepal. In addition, the company is seeking financing for the construction of 100 solar plants in the next two years, expected to generate electricity for more than 400,000 people, Moon added, as cited by Bloomberg.

Via the SunEdison-backed schemes, SunFarmer’s Nepali customers will be able to achieve savings of between 10% and 15% on electricity costs. They will become owners of the solar facilities in six to eight years.

The initiative represents SunFarmer’s first project. The entity, which focuses on building solar systems in rural and impoverished areas, was set up by the the SunEdison Rural Energy Fund (SREF) earlier this year. In between 12 and 18 months from now, SunFarmer will switch its focus to other markets than Nepal.

(USD 1.0 = EUR 0.730)

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