Panasonic Eco Solutions Canada Inc. continues to drive changes in the solar industry. The company won the 2016 Canadian Solar Industries Association (CanSIA) Game Changer Award in the “Project Finance Category,” handed out at the Game Changer Awards Gala in May. This is Panasonic’s second CanSIA Game Changer Award.
“We are honored to receive this outstanding award, which offers evidence that we are helping an underserved part of the solar PV market to get projects brought to commercial operation that may otherwise have not obtained financing,” said Walter Buzzelli, managing director at Panasonic Eco Solutions Canada Inc. “Our financing platform has been designed to be efficient and meaningful to both the system owner and lender, making even smaller scale systems bankable enough to allow attractive investment rates which can lead to better returns in solar PV projects.”
Panasonic, in conjunction with PNC Equipment Finance, a division of PNC Bank Canada Branch (PNC Canada), the Canadian arm of PNC Bank, N.A., has created a financing proposition whereby Panasonic provides full turn-key engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) services, 100% construction financing, operations, maintenance and a production guarantee on the projects’ future performance. This allows PNC Canada to offer attractive long-term financing to the project owner. The program is available to owners of large utility scale projects, as well as projects as small as 200kW.
“PNC is honored to share the Game Changer Award for Project Finance Innovation with Panasonic,” said Bruce Schruder, senior vice president and senior account executive, Equipment Finance division, PNC Bank Canada Branch. “Projects financed by our collaboration help generate clean power for manufacturers and Main Streets across Canada while at the same time providing PNC’s Canadian customers with the banking to reach their environmental goals.”
Since Panasonic and PNC Canada introduced their financing program, they have serviced numerous solar projects that have involved multiple developers, energy producers and buyers. The number of projects is anticipated to increase significantly due to the program’s competitiveness, flexibility and successful track record.
Promoting renewable energy is central to Panasonic’s business philosophy. Panasonic is uniquely positioned to be able to leverage its strong financial position as a Fortune Global 500 company to structure and underwrite a unique production guarantee for installed solar systems that makes them bankable. Thus, lenders are able to offer attractive investment rates that aim to improve returns in solar PV projects.
With the ability to offer one-stop project management that includes financing in addition to EPC services, and now a long term financing arrangement with PNC Canada, Panasonic brings new value to solar developers.
