GE Financing Gratiot County Wind Project
BRECKENRIDGE -- Chicago-based Invenergy Wind LLC said Wednesday that it has arranged equity financing for its Gratiot County Wind Project from GE Energy Financial Services, a unit of GE (NYSE: GE).
GE Energy Financial Services will invest an undisclosed amount in the 110.4 megawatt project under construction near Breckenridge.
"This investment deepens our relationship with Invenergy, marking our fourth investment in its wind projects over the past four years," said Tim Howell, a managing director and the commercial leader of Power and Renewable Energy at GE Energy Financial Services. "It also supports ecomagination, GE's business strategy to create value for customers by solving energy, efficiency and water challenges."
"We welcome GE Energy Financial Services as an investor in our Gratiot County Wind project," said Jim Murphy, Invenergy COO and CFO. "This financing, together with our bank loan facilities that were recently completed, provide Invenergy with a strong investor base for our Gratiot County Wind project."
Scheduled for completion in the first quarter of 2012, the 110.4-megawatt project will sell all of its power and renewable energy attributes to DTE Energy under a long-term contract. Invenergy is constructing an additional 102.4 megawatts that will be transferred to DTE Energy upon completion. The combined projects will consist of 133 1.6-megawatt GE Energy wind turbines, featuring 82.5-meter diameter rotors with 100 meter towers.
Together, with a 212.8-megawatt capacity, Michigan's largest wind generation facility will produce enough clean, renewable energy to power approximately 50,000 homes. Gratiot County Wind will help DTE Energy meet Michigan's Renewable Portfolio Standard, which mandates that 10 percent of the state's energy come from renewable sources by 2015.
Located on about 30,000 acres of rural farmland, Gratiot County Wind is employing approximately 200 skilled construction workers. Upon completion, 14 full-time employees will operate and maintain the Invenergy and DTE Energy projects. The wind facilities will further benefit the host community economically through annual lease payments to landowners. In addition, property tax payments to Gratiot County and local municipalities can be used for schools, fire and police protection, and road improvements.
Invenergy and its affiliated companies develop, own and operate large-scale renewable and other clean energy generation facilities in North America and Europe. Invenergy is committed to clean power alternatives and continued innovation in electricity generation. Invenergy's home office is located in Chicago and it has regional development offices throughout the United States and in Canada and Europe.
Invenergy and its affiliated companies currently have over 6,600 MW of wind, solar, and thermal projects under contract, in construction, or in operation. For more information, please visit www.invenergyllc.com.
More about GE Energy Financial Services at www.geenergyfinancialservices.com.
