The Spanish wind turbine manufacturer Gamesa is working with the U.S. Export-Import Bank to help the company finance a large wind project in Honduras. The turbines are being shipped from Gamesa's headquarters in Pennsylvania.

Ex-Im Bank's $159 million direct loan to the project sponsor, Energia Eolica de Honduras S.A., will finance its purchase of 51 Gamesa G87 2-MW wind turbines for the 102-MW wind farm, which will be the largest in Central America. It is the second major wind farm to be supported by Ex-Im Bank in fiscal year 2010 and the Bank's first wind project in Central America.

The facility will be located 20 kilometers south of the capital city of Tegucigalpa in the municipalities of Santa Ana and San Buenaventura. When operational, the wind farm will be the fourth largest power generator in Honduras, producing about 6 percent of the country's power.

Ex-Im Bank helps fill gaps in export financing for companies based in the U.S. The Bank, which has been doing more work in the renewables space, provides a variety of financing mechanisms, including working capital guarantees to help small and medium-sized U.S. businesses, export-credit insurance to protect against nonpayment by foreign buyers, and loan guarantees and direct loans to assist foreign buyers of U.S. goods and services.I

In fiscal 2009, overall Ex-Im Bank financing totaled $21 billion, and authorizations supporting small-business exports reached a historic high of $4.4 billion, nearly 21 percent of total authorizations.