Cross-border bank Standard Chartered has announced the successful closing of a six-year US$235 million non-recourse senior secured-term green-loan facility to fund the development, construction, and operation of a 1.35 million square foot solar photovoltaic (PV) manufacturing plant in Texas. The funding will go to global renewables company Trina Solar – headquartered in the Chinese province of Jiangsu, and with subsidiaries across the US, Europe and Asia. Standard Chartered was the sole lead structuring bank and bookrunner for the financing and acted as green loan coordinator, as well as a joint lead arranger, lender, and hedge counterparty. The transaction is one of the first solar panel manufacturing facilities to be financed on a non-recourse basis in the US. The new manufacturing plant will include seven solar PV panel assembly lines, producing three types of solar modules for utility-scale, commercial and industrial, and residential-scale solar – with a total output of 5 gigawatts direct current per year. Standard Chartered said the project would help improve the country’s renewable energy mix and transition to cleaner energy, while bringing 1,500 new local jobs. “In addition to boosting job creation locally in Texas, this new solar panel plant will strengthen Trinasolar US’s leading position in the local solar market,” said Sridhar Nagarajan, Regional Head of Project Export Finance for Europe and Americas at Standard Chartered. “This project … allows us to bring to life our commitment to working with clients towards net zero using our ability to provide comprehensive, innovative, and bespoke sustainable financing solutions.” The financing followed a US$250 million syndicated green loan for Trinasolar in 2022, which supported electricity generation using solar PV technology.
