AES Solar Energy Closes on €173 Million Project Financing for 43 MW Photovoltaic Project in Italy

Arlington, VA Posted on April 7th, 2010
A total of five banks participated in this financing: Société Générale (as Documentation, Technical & Modeling Bank and Hedging Coordinator), Unicredit Mediocredito Centrale (as Documentation Bank), BNP Paribas (as Insurance Bank), Crédit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank and Dexia Crediop (as Agent). SACE is taking this opportunity to step up its involvement in financing solar PV projects, participating via providing a guarantee for a portion of Société Générale's commitment. The facilities cover approximately 85% of estimated project costs at completion and the final maturity date is 18 years post construction.Massimiliano Battisti, a Managing Director at Société Générale, one of the coordinating banks in this transaction remarked, "While the Italian regulatory environment makes solar PV a highly attractive investment, its dynamics make innovative financing solutions necessary. This poses a significant barrier to entry for less sophisticated investors. In this environment we believe that it is very important to have partners like AES Solar who are among the most experienced sponsors in this sector, as they have both the industry and the financial expertise as well as the ability to understand the subtleties of the local market to enable them to successfully deliver the project."Construction on the project is underway and the project is expected to reach commercialoperation by the end of 2010, qualifying it for a 20-year regulated feed-in tariff under the"Conto Energia" scheme. CSM will use First Solar thin film panels.The addition of the 43 MW CSM will more than double the global operating portfolio of AES Solar, which currently includes 38 MW across France, Greece and Spain.

About AES SolarAES Solar Energy Ltd, (AES Solar) is a joint venture between The AES Corporation and Riverstone Holdings LLC, formed to develop, own and operate utility-scale photovoltaic solar installations around the world. AES Solar currently has 38 MW in operations ininvestments in the midstream, exploration & production, oilfield services, power and renewable sectors of the energy industry. With offices in New York, London and Houston, the firm has committed approximately $13 billion to 66 investments in North America, Latin America, Europe and Asia. For more information, visit www.riverstonellc.com.

About The AES CorporationThe AES Corporation (NYSE: AES) is a Fortune 500 global power company with generation and distribution businesses. Through its diverse portfolio of thermal and renewable fuel sources, AES safely provides affordable and sustainable energy in 29 countries. AES’ workforce of 27,000 people is committed to operational excellence and meeting the world's changing power needs. AES’ 2009 revenues were $14 billion and it owns and manages $40 billion in total assets. To learn more, please visit www.aes.com.