Etrion and Total Secure Financing With OPIC for 70 MWp Salvador Solar Project in Chile

PARIS, FRANCE and GENEVA, SWITZERLAND--(Marketwired - Dec. 11, 2013) - Total (PAR:TOTF.PA), Etrion Corporation (TSX:ETX)(OMX:ETX) and SunPower Corp. (NASDAQ:SPWR) announced today that financing has been secured for construction of the 70-megawatt-peak ("MWp") Salvador project ("Project Salvador") in the Atacama region of Chile. Project Salvador will be the world's largest solar power plant based on spot market electricity ("merchant") revenues.

PV Salvador, the project special purpose vehicle ("SPV"), recently signed a project finance facility agreement with the Overseas Private Investment Corporation ("OPIC"), the U.S. government's development finance institution, to finance 70% of the approximately US$200 million project cost through long-term, non-recourse project debt. The remaining 30% equity portion will be funded by Etrion, Total and the initial project developer, Solventus, based on their ownership interests of 70%, 20% and 10%, respectively.

Etrion has a US$42 million credit facility from its major shareholder, the Lundin family, to fund its equity commitment. Following initial payback of Etrion's equity investment of US$42 million, Etrion's ownership in Project Salvador will decrease from 70% to 50.01%. After 20 years of operations, Etrion's ownership will decrease to zero.

Marco A. Northland, Etrion's chief executive officer, commented: "We are excited to partner with Total, SunPower and Solventus on this landmark solar project that takes our business model beyond government subsidies. This is Etrion's first project to be financed and under construction in the Americas, and we look forward to working with the same partners on future projects. Project Salvador almost doubles our installed capacity and is expected to grow our cash flow by approximately 50%, transforming Etrion into a global solar power generation platform."

"We are pleased that OPIC has agreed to finance the plant and that we have launched construction of the Salvador project, which will benefit from our affiliate SunPower's record-breaking photovoltaic technology," said Bernard Clement, senior vice president business operations, Total New Energies. "As the largest solar merchant power plant in the world, this project will deliver advanced solar generation, operation technologies and management practices while creating a significant positive impact on local businesses and people."