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April 8, 2009

Windfarm funds in hand

GE, banks collaborate to invest in local projects

By DAN HEATH

PLATTSBURGH — Noble Environmental Power has refinanced three of its wind parks, including two in the North Country.

Noble recently announced that it has received long-term capital for its Altona, Chateaugay and Wethersfield wind parks.

"Although the challenges of the financial landscape are unprecedented, the need for clean, renewable energy has never been greater," Noble CEO Walt Howard said in a statement.

"The completion of this deal reflects the strength and talent of the Noble team, as well as GE's continued commitment to renewable energy."

GE Energy Financial Services invested more than $200 million in the three wind parks as part of a syndicate of banks and financial institutions that provided a 15-year loan of about $440 million.

"Through this investment, GE Energy Financial Services is helping Noble move to the operating phase of this important New York state project and supporting the continued development of the U.S. wind industry, which could provide a tremendous boost for our economy," GE Energy Financial Services Managing Director of Power and Renewable Energy Kevin Walsh said.

Citibank NA will serve as administrative agent for the lending syndicate, which includes Citicorp Inc., HSH Nordbank as documentation agent, the Royal Bank of Scotland as syndication agent, Lloyds TSB Bank, the Prudential Insurance Company, the Bank of Nova Scotia, Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentina, ING Capital, Export Development Canada and Dekabank Deutsche Girozentale.

The deal was named North American renewable Deal of the Year by Project Finance Magazine in its March 2009 issue.

The magazine reported the deal also includes about $100 million in tax equity and $109 million in letters of credit facilities.

TURBINE COLLAPSE
Noble also operates wind parks in the towns of Clinton and Ellenburg. It has a total of 257 wind turbines in Clinton and Franklin counties.

The Altona park was the site of a wind-turbine collapse on March 6. Noble said the GE wind turbines feature a pitch-control system designed to stop operation in a power outage, as happened the day of the collapse.

Investigation by GE crews revealed a wiring anomaly in two of the turbines, which led to the collapse of one.

PSC PROBE
The New York Public Service Commission has since started an investigation of the incident to make its own determination of the collapse.

Public Service Commission spokesperson Anne Dalton said the agency requested information from Noble on turbine equipment and operations before the collapse, debris scatter and whether the company had proper emergency response and maintenance procedures, as well as whether they were followed.

She said the company has cooperated with the investigation, and a review of the information is under way.

E-mail Dan Heath at: dheath@pressrepublican.com

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