Alterra Power Corp. and Starwood Energy Group Global, LLC have completed a $287 million construction loan facility (all amounts USD) for the 204 MW Shannon wind project. The facility was supplied by affiliates of Citi, Santander Bank, N.A. and the Royal Bank of Canada, and consists of a $212 million loan plus $75 million in various letters of credit. The loan is supported by a $219 million tax equity investment commitment (subject to typical conditions precedent) supplied by subsidiaries of Citi and Berkshire Hathaway Energy.
The Shannon wind project is currently under construction in Clay County, Texas under an EPC contract with Mortenson Construction's Wind Energy Group. The project is expected to begin commercial operations in late 2015 or early 2016. GE is supplying 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 project will sell the majority of its power under a 13-year contract with Citigroup Energy Inc.
Investment affiliates of Alterra and Starwood Energy own the project in a 50/50 partnership ($125 million combined equity investment).
"We're pleased to complete the Shannon financing on commercially favourable terms with world-class partners," said John Carson, CEO at Alterra. "The Shannon project will provide sufficient clean power to meet the needs of more than 60,000 households, and cash flows from the project will enable the further extension of Alterra's renewable power platform."
"We have been very active in the wind sector and are pleased to have made this investment," added Himanshu Saxena, Managing Director of Starwood Energy. "This is an excellent example of our value-add approach of partnering with developers in building large infrastructure projects."