NextEra Energy To Purchase Three Windfarms

NextEra Energy Resources, LLC, a subsidiary of FPL Group, Inc. (NYSE: FPL), announced it has entered into an agreement to purchase three operating wind projects with a combined capacity of 184.5 megawatts (MW) from Babcock & Brown.

Under the terms of the agreement, a subsidiary of NextEra Energy Resources will purchase three operating wind projects for approximately $352 million. The projects included in the transaction are:

• 79.5-MW Majestic Wind Energy Center located in Carson County, Texas, northeast of Amarillo. The Majestic project is comprised of 54 GE 1.5-MW turbines (NYSE: GE). All of the output from this project is sold to Southwestern Electric Power Company, a subsidiary of AEP (NYSE: AEP), under a long-term contract.
• 54-MW Butler Ridge Wind Energy Center located in Dodge County, Wisconsin, northwest of Milwaukee. The Butler Ridge project is comprised of 36 GE 1.5-MW wind turbines. A portion of the output from the project is sold to Wisconsin Public Power under a long-term contract. The remaining output is expected to be sold to Midwest utilities to serve their growing renewable portfolio standard requirements.
• 51-MW Wessington Springs Wind Energy Center located in Jerauld County, South Dakota, south of Wessington Springs. The Wessington Springs project is comprised of 34 GE 1.5-MW wind turbines. All of the output from this project is sold to Heartland Consumer Power District under a long-term contract.

Approvals for the transaction are needed from federal agencies, including the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and Department of Justice clearance under the Hart Scott Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976. The transaction is also subject to other closing conditions. NextEra Energy Resources expects to complete the transaction by the end of 2009. Upon closing, the company will assume management and operation of all three wind projects. The acquisition is expected to be accretive to earnings per share in 2010.

NextEra Energy Resources is the largest generator of wind power in North America. Today the company operates more than 8,300 wind turbines at 66 wind projects located in 16 states and two Canadian provinces. By the end of 2009, NextEra Energy expects to have invested more than $10 billion in its wind business. In addition to its wind portfolio, NextEra Energy Resources is also currently the largest operator of solar power in the U.S., with 310 MW located in California’s Mojave Desert.