
First Solar's $455.7 Million Loan Guarantee for Canada

First Solar Inc. is the world’s largest maker of thin-film solar modules. The company is looking to power project investments in Canada and has secured a $455.7 million of loan guarantees from the U.S. Export-Import Bank.
First Solar plans to build two solar plants in southern Ontario with a combined capacity of 90 megawatts. Ontario has seen a significant spike in solar energy investment following the passing of the Canadian province’s recent Green Energy Act, catapulting it into the position of number two in installed solar capacity, trailing only California.
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The loan guarantee in the largest ever approved by the U.S. Export-Import Bank for solar products shipped abroad, and is aimed at helping President Obama in his goal of doubling U.S. exports by 2015.
In 2010, U.S. solar exports rose 83 percent to $5.63 billion. The top import of solar products was $2.4 billion of photovoltaic modules. However, President Obama wants to reverse the trend of exporting raw materials and importing finished products from Asia.
$236.7 million of the loan guarantees is slated for a 50-megawatt plant and $219 million for a 40-megawatt plant, both in southern Ontario.
Amazon's renewable energy projects surpass 200 milestone

Amazon claims it is now Europe's largest corporate buyer of renewable energy as its projects surpassed 200 globally.
Broken down, it has 136 solar rooftops on facilities and stores and 71 utility-scale wind and solar projects, nine of which were announced today covering the US, Canada, Spain, Sweden and UK. They include:
First solar project paired with energy storage Based in California’s Imperial Valley, Amazon’s first solar project paired with energy storage allows the company to align solar generation with the greatest demand. The project generates 100MW of solar energy, and includes 70MW storage.
It now has more than 2.5 GW of renewable energy capacity, enough to power more than two million European homes a year, and aims to power all its activities with renewables by 2025 and net zero by 2040.
Amazon and Global Optimism co-founded The Climate Pledge in 2019, a commit ment to reach the Paris Agreement 10 years early and be net-zero carbon by 2040. The pledge now has 53 signatories, including IBM, Unilever, Verizon, Siemens, Microsoft, and Best Buy.
A map of all of Amazon’s renewable energy projects around the world can be found here.
