Juhl Wind, Inc.(OTCQB: JUHL), the Leader in Community Wind Power, is pleased to announce that it recently formed a joint venture with Boulder, Colorado-based 8030 Companies with a focus on the acquisition of existing wind farms and other clean energy assets across the United States and Canada. The joint venture has conducted preliminary discussions with targeted owners of existing wind farms in the upper Midwest and is now expanding its scope across North America.
"We are excited to announce our joint venture with 8030 and to show the wind industry how we are uniquely qualified to partner with and/or acquire existing wind farms across North America," stated John Mitola, President of Juhl Wind. "We are targeting projects that strongly align with our core capabilities in the market - wind farms under 100 megawatts ("MWs"). Despite the tumultuous last 12 months in the wind industry, Juhl Wind's business strategy has allowed the company to remain stable and well-positioned for future growth. Juhl Wind is one of the few companies outside of utility-based conglomerates that maintains operations in every aspect of the clean energy industry – including ownership, full-scale operations, maintenance, engineering, development and financing. We bring our experience and investment discipline to bear in the smaller end of the market where we are extremely competitive and qualified to perform."
"8030 has worked with Juhl since late 2011. Juhl's experience, talent and knowledge in the wind and clean energy space uniquely positions them to provide a significant value proposition to clean energy project owners facing post-warranty and second half operational challenges," added John Brown, President of 8030 Companies. "Juhl brings the operating expertise normally found in big companies to mid and smaller-scale projects, but in a way that embraces their 'Community Wind' and 'Community Scale' background and values. For existing owners of wind farms and clean energy facilities under 100 MWs with an operating history of six or more years, partnering with Juhl provides the risk protection and financial certainty asset owners expect as their equipment moves into the second half of its projected useful life."
The joint venture operates under the Juhl Wind umbrella and is particularly focused on wind farm assets approaching its 10th year of operation, when the Production Tax Credit ("PTC") is about to expire and when equipment may require upgrades and a level of operating care that may not be available at the local level or by a large, conglomerate, absentee owner. Juhl also looks to acquire or become a partner on any projects where a local owner may be facing a "flip" and may prefer to have a partner, like Juhl, who understands the unique issues facing smaller wind farm assets.
"Industry data suggest that there is well over 6,000 MWs of wind farms under 50 MWs in size presently operating in North America and obviously a significant more amount available that exist under 100 MWs," added Corey Juhl, Vice President of Development at Juhl Wind. "This data underscores the tremendous scale of opportunity for both Juhl and 8030. Juhl's partnership with 8030 Companies allows us to expand our reach beyond the Midwest market and leverage Juhl's 25 years of experience in the wind industry to expand our services and balance sheet to operating assets and projects."