204 MW Shannon Wind Farm Goes Online In Texas

Alterra Power Corp. (TSX: AXY) and Starwood Energy Group Global, LLC are pleased to announce the commencement of commercial operations and funding of tax equity for the 204 MW Shannon wind project.

The project is located in Clay County, Texas and was constructed under an EPC contract with Mortenson Construction’s Wind Energy Group. General Electric Company supplied 119 wind turbines (1.71 MW output, 103m rotor diameter) for the project, and will provide operations and maintenance services for the turbines under a long-term contract. The majority of the project’s output will be sold under a 13-year contract with Citi. Alterra and Starwood Energy own the sponsor interests in the project under a 50/50 affiliate partnership.

Concurrent with commercial operations, subsidiaries of Citi and BHE Renewables have completed a tax equity investment of US$219 million into the project of which proceeds were used primarily to retire the project’s construction loan facility.

“We’re excited that the Shannon project is now operating at full capacity, delivering clean power in Texas,” said Jon Schintler, VP of Project Finance at Alterra. “I’d also like to thank Mortenson, GE and all of our teams for helping deliver this project on time and on budget, and welcome our new partners in the project, Citi and BHE Renewables.”

“The completion of Shannon represents an important milestone for Starwood’s growing wind franchise.  We are grateful to have an excellent partner in Alterra and look forward to continued success for this project,” added Alex Daberko, Vice President of Starwood Energy.

Alterra Power Corp. is a leading global renewable energy company, operating six power plants totaling 757 MW of generation capacity including the Shannon wind project, British Columbia’s largest run-of-river hydro facility and largest wind farm, and two geothermal facilities in Iceland. Alterra owns a 349 MW share of this capacity, generating over 1,600 GWh of clean power annually.

Alterra is also constructing the 62 MW Jimmie Creek run-of-river hydroelectric project in British Columbia, which is expected to be in operation by Q3 2016 (51% owned by Alterra). Upon completion of Jimmie Creek, Alterra will operate seven power plants totaling 819 MW of capacity and will own a 381 MW share of this capacity, generating over 1,700 GWh of clean power annually. Alterra has an extensive portfolio of exploration and development projects and a skilled international team of developers, builders and operators to support its growth plans.

The company trades on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol AXY and OTC in the United States as MGMXF.
Starwood Energy Group is a private investment firm based in Greenwich, CT that specializes in energy infrastructure investments. Through its general opportunity funds known as Starwood Energy Infrastructure Fund I and II, and other affiliated investment vehicles, Starwood Energy Group manages total equity commitments of more than $2 billion. The Starwood Energy Group team brings extensive development, construction, operations, acquisition and financing expertise to its investments, with a focus on the natural gas and renewable power generation, and transmission sectors. To date, Starwood Energy Group and its affiliates have committed to energy infrastructure transactions totaling approximately $4 billion in enterprise value.