San Antonio, Texas – The North American Development Bank (NADBank) is joining a consortium of lenders in an existing US$200 million Nomura-led senior secured credit facility supporting a project company of Paz Oil Company Ltd (TASE: PZOL; ilA+ ), Arava Power Company Ltd and Menora Mivtachim, Ltd., for the design, construction and operation of a 200-MWAC solar park project in Uvalde County, Texas, which is expected to generate electricity equivalent to the annual consumption of 13,735 houses.
“We are pleased to announce that we have joined the consortium of lenders supporting the project financing for the Paz, Arava and Menora Mivtachim solar project,” stated NADBank Managing Director, Calixto Mateos Hanel. “The generation of clean and renewable electricity continues to be an important factor in helping to avoid greenhouse emissions and contribute to healthier air quality. We congratulate Paz, Arava and Menora for their efforts.”
“We are proud and satisfied with this substantial and unique solar PV project. By mid-next year we are expecting this project to be in full operation, producing enough electricity to power tens of thousands of households in the area. We would like to thank our excellent partners, Arava Power Company and Menora Mivtachim group, and our remarkable financing partners who put their trust in us and into this project,” said Paz Oil.
“We are happy to promote the exceptional Project Sunray, together with our remarkable partners, Paz Oil and Menora Mivtachim, and the solid financing consortium. This Project represents the first step in our broader U.S. expansion strategy,” said Ilan Zidkony, CEO Arava Power.
“We are grateful for NADBank’s partnership and support for this important financing to Paz, Arava, and Menora. This financing will allow the Sponsors to deliver impactful decarbonization goals and create positive impacts for local communities,” stated Vinod Mukani, Global Head of Infrastructure and Power Business (“IPB”).
“Nomura is pleased to have arranged this financing with the strong support of NADBank. This financing allows Paz, Arava and Menora to support their energy transition objectives, representing a strong alignment with Nomura and NADBank’s strategies of supporting clients’ decarbonization goals.” stated Alain Halimi, Managing Director, IPB.
The solar park will be constructed near the town of Knippa, approximately 62.4 miles northeast of the U.S.-Mexico border. The electricity generated by the project will supply the South Hub of the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT).
The main components of the project include the installation of approximately 498,000 bifacial monocrystalline photovoltaic modules mounted on single-axis tracking arrays, 62 inverters, a step-up substation, and a SCADA control system to monitor, operate and track the park remotely as well as document the park’s performance.
The park will be interconnected to the existing 138-kV Uvalde-Razorback transmission line operated by ERCOT that crosses over the project site and the electricity produced by the project will be sold to private companies and/or in the wholesale electricity market operated by ERCOT.
The outcomes anticipated for the project include the generation of approximately 515.2 gigawatt-hours of electricity in the first year of operation. The solar facility will help prevent the emission of an estimated 220,085 metric tons per year of CO2 among other pollutants.
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About NADBank:
NADBank is a financial institution established and capitalized in equal parts by the United States and Mexico for the purpose of financing environmental infrastructure projects along their common border. As a pioneer institution in its field, the Bank is working to develop environmentally and financially sustainable projects with broad community support in a framework of close cooperation and coordination between Mexico and the United States. For more information about NADBank, visit www.nadb.org.
About Nomura:
Nomura is a global financial services group with an integrated network spanning over 30 countries and regions. By connecting markets East & West, Nomura services the needs of individuals, institutions, corporates and governments through its three business divisions: Retail, Investment Management, and Wholesale (Global Markets and Investment Banking). Founded in 1925, the firm is built on a tradition of disciplined entrepreneurship, serving clients with creative solutions and considered thought leadership. For further information about Nomura, visit www.nomura.com.
About Arava Power:
Arava Power Company (APC) is a solar Developer / IPP that pioneered utility-scale photovoltaics in Israel; developing, owning, and operating hundreds of megawatts over the past 15 years. APC’s profound expertise and years of experience have allowed it to build one of the most profitable portfolios in the industry, maintaining and improving performance through excellence in development, technological innovation, and advanced asset management operations.
About Paz Oil Group (TLV: PZOL)
Founded in 1922 and based in Israel, Paz (TASE: PZOL; ilA+) is one of the largest energy companies in Israel, focusing mainly on fuel retail, LPG, real estate, food & convenient retail, renewables, EV charging. Paz is a public company whose shares are traded in the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange, and it is listed on the TASE's flagships indexes, which tracks the shares of the companies with the highest market capitalization in the stock exchange.Paz is the largest gas retailer in Israel with about 270 gas stations and convenience retail locations and more than 60 supermarkets in the center of the cities, which is one of the leaders in Israel. Further, Paz has annual revenue of 5.3 $bn, total assets of 4.5$bn and a market capitalization of over 1.3$bn. Paz is currently increasing its dedication to the energy transition infrastructure sector by beginning to install EV charging stations to its existing convenience and gas stations, receiving licenses to supply electricity to a large share of households in Israel using its hundreds of thousands existing LPG clients alongside with using the company's knowledge for recruiting new clients, and through its acquisition of supermarkets, expanding its retail of food and energy business.In the renewable sector, Paz Group is establishing a global RES activity focusing on utility-scale solar, onshore wind and storage solutions in Europe/U.S. and expand into neighboring countries. In Israel, Paz is focusing to become a customer-centric player in the IL electricity market by providing a variety of solutions to its customers, incl. energy and electricity, mainly to the Industrial, commercial and residential sectors.The Group's financial resilience, combined with advanced work methods, a highly developed service orientation and the ability to zero in on marketing opportunities, have positioned Paz as one of Israel's top companies, with a reputation for professionalism and leadership. More about Paz at https://www.paz.co.il/en-US/home
About Menora Mivtachim:
Menora Mivtachim Holdings Ltd. is one of Israel's five largest insurance & finance groups. The group specializes in asset management, manages the largest pension fund in Israel – ‘Menora Mivtachim pension and gemel', and is the largest General Insurer in Israel and the market leader in Motor Insurance sector. The group operates through its subsidiaries, in all sectors of Life Insurance, Long/Mid/Short-Term Savings, General Insurance and Health Insurance. In addition, the group is active in the capital markets and finance sectors, including Mutual Funds Management, Financial Portfolio Management, Underwriting and worldwide real estate investments.