Solar Millennium has decreased its initial sales outlook from €350 million to €150 million, and from €30 million to a neutral or slightly negative EBIT as a result of US delays.
The US Department of Energy (DoE) and other government agencies have made changes to the procedures for the Loan Guarantee Program Application which hindered the Blythe 1 and 2 projects. The Blythe project will be the world’s largest solar site, consisting of 242 MW of power, with the final construction permit expected to be received this month. The company plans to begin construction on the Blythe 1 and 2 solar-thermal power plants as soon as December, and is expected to ensure cash grants from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.
Solar Millennium’s spokesman Thomas Mayer said, "At the end of the fiscal year, we will have reached two of three milestones at the world’s largest solar site: the approval by the California Energy Commission and the construction permit by the US Department of the Interior. The third challenge, the conclusion of financing, will be postponed to the next fiscal year due to external factors, namely procedural changes in the approval process of the Loan Guarantee Program. This delay will have a negative impact on the current annual result, but not on the realization of the power plants and therefore not on the long-term success of the Solar Millennium Group."
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