Alterra Power and Starwood Energy secure project financing for the Shannon wind power project

Alterra Power and Starwood Energy Group have announced the completion of a US$287 million construction loan facility for the 204 MW Shannon wind project in Texas, USA.

The facility was supplied by affiliates of Citi, Santander Bank and the Royal Bank of Canada. It consists of a US$212 million loan plus US$75 million in various letters of credit. The loan is supported by a US$219 million tax equity investment commitment (subject to typical conditions precedent) supplied by subsidiaries of Citi and Berkshire Hathaway Energy.

Located in Clay County, Texas, the Shannon wind project will consist of 119 80-meter General Electric 1.71 MW turbines giving a combined generating capacity of roughly 204 MW.

The site is currently under construction under an Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) contract with Mortenson Construction's Wind Energy Group. Commercial operation is expected to begin in late 2015 or early 2016.

The wind farm will sell the majority of its power under a 13-year contract with Citigroup Energy.

Investment affiliates of Alterra and Starwood Energy own the project in a 50/50 partnership through a US$125 million combined equity investment. This brings the total project investment to US$412 million.

John Carson, CEO of Alterra, has commented:

"We're pleased to complete the Shannon financing on commercially favorable terms with world-class partners. 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."

Managing Director of Starwood Energy, Himanshu Saxena, stated the following:

"We have been very active in the wind sector and are pleased to have made this investment. This is an excellent example of our value-add approach of partnering with developers in building large infrastructure projects."