enXco, Inc. announced it has closed on the project financing for Minnesota’s largest wind farm, the $385 million Fenton Wind Energy Project under construction in Murray and Nobles Counties, Minnesota, with its financial partners Union Bank of California and GE Energy Financial Services. The project pushes the total US wind energy development portfolio for enXco, one of the leading developers, operators and managers of these projects in this country, past the $1 billion mark.
Construction of the 205-megawatt wind farm, which enXco is managing, began in September, and it is set for commercial operation in the second half of 2007. Consisting of 137 GE 1.5 megawatt turbines, the Fenton wind farm will be operated and maintained by enXco Service Corporation.
Union Bank of California, GE Energy Financial Services and other equity investors are financing the project. Union Bank of California acted as lead underwriter for both the debt and equity financing for the project and will syndicate some of the equity. GE Energy Financial Services is the largest equity investor in the project, with a 50 percent of the equity stake sold by enXco.
Power from the Fenton project will be sold to Northern States Power, a subsidiary of Minnesota’s largest utility, Xcel Energy, under a 25-year purchase agreement. Among the nation’s utilities, Xcel is the largest purchaser of wind power. The state of Minnesota, which ranks fourth among US states in terms of wind power installed, requires Xcel to obtain 11 percent of its energy from renewable sources by 2015.
Lance Markowitz, Senior Vice President of Union Bank of California, said: “The Fenton wind energy project is an important source of clean energy, and UBOC is proud to have arranged and underwritten both debt and equity financing for the project. Also, as an equity investor in Fenton, we expect it to be among the flagship investments in our portfolio.”
Added Kevin Walsh, Managing Director and leader of GE Energy Financial Services’ renewable energy team: “The Fenton project represents GE Energy Financial Services’ 16th wind farm equity investment commitment and brings the total capacity of our worldwide wind holdings to 750 megawatts.”
enXco, inc. develops, constructs, operates and manages wind energy projects throughout the United States. enXco is the largest O & M 3rd party provider for wind farms, currently servicing more than 4,200 turbines and more than 1,100 MW. enXco is an affiliate of EdF Energies Nouvelles (www.edf-energies-nouvelles.com).
GE Energy Financial Services invests globally across the capital spectrum and the energy and water industries. With $13 billion in assets, it invests more than $5 billion annually in two of the world’s most capital-intensive industries, energy and water. In renewable energy, it has developed a record investing in wind, solar, biomass, hydro and geothermal power, and is growing its portfolio of $1.5 billion in renewable energy assets.
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