SAN JOSE, California, December 27, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- SunPower Corp. today announced that it has completed the sale of its 44-megawatt (MW) Montalto di Castro solar park to a consortium of international investors that include MetLife, Fondo PPP Italia (managed by Fondaco SGR S.p.A and advised by Equiter S.p.A) and Voigt & Collegen (with its funds SolEs 22 and SolEs 23). SunPower designed and built the solar power plant and will provide ongoing operations and maintenance services for the new owners. Barclays Capital advised MetLife on this transaction.

"With the sale of this power plant now completed, we have met the goal of developing, constructing and monetizing 72 megawatts from the Montalto di Castro solar park," said Dennis Arriola, SunPower chief financial officer. "We are proud of this accomplishment and recognize the dedicated team and various independent parties that helped to deliver this successful outcome."

The Montalto di Castro solar park, developed by SunPower, is located in the Lazio region of Italy near Rome, where the 20-MW first phase was connected to the grid in November of 2009, several weeks ahead of schedule. The 8-MW second phase was commissioned earlier this fall, and the third and fourth phases, totaling 44 MW, were completed earlier this month. SunPower financed the development and construction of the 44-MW with proceeds from the solar industry's first-of-its-kind solar bond.

Editors' Note: The capacity of power plants in this release is described in approximate megawatts on an alternating current (AC) basis unless otherwise noted. On a direct current (DC) basis, the final two phases of the Montalto di Castro solar park total approximately 51 MW in capacity and form part of a multi-phase solar park with a capacity of approximately 85 MW (DC).