Located near the New York-Pennsylvania border, Armenia Mountain is a 100.5-MW wind facility.
ALLETE Clean Energy (ACE) has agreed to acquire 100% of AES Armenia Mountain Wind’s 100.5-megawatt (MW) wind facility near Troy, Pennsylvania, including a non-controlling interest from a minority shareholder for a total of $108 million and the assumption of existing debt.
Located in the busy PJM electricity market near the New York-Pennsylvania border, Armenia Mountain’s 67, 1.5-MW General Electric wind turbines were installed in 2009. All the facility’s energy output is sold through existing power purchase agreements that extend through 2025.
This is the fourth wind facility ACE has acquired from AES and the seventh in its portfolio. In January of 2014, the ALLETE subsidiary finalized the acquisition of wind energy projects with a total capacity of 231-MW in Lake Benton, Minnesota, Storm Lake, Iowa, and Condon, Oregon from AES. Armenia Mountain is the largest and newest of the wind installations acquired by ACE.
“This acquisition continues our steady growth, with ACE’s operating assets to total 540 MW,” said ALLETE Clean Energy President Eric Norberg. “By moving into a different area of the country with a thriving renewable energy market, ACE builds upon its operational and entrepreneurial experience.”
“ALLETE continues to successfully execute and integrate the major planks within our broader energy strategy,” said ALLETE Chairman, President and CEO Al Hodnik. “ALLETE’s combined portfolio of operating wind assets from ACE and Minnesota Power will total nearly 1,000 MW. This latest transaction reinforces our belief that a more sustainable energy future relying less on carbon will mold the North American energy landscape over the long haul.”
ACE had an option to purchase the Armenia Mountain facility, which was exercised on April 1st and a purchase agreement with AES was signed on April 30th. Closing is expected in July 2015.
In November of 2014, ALLETE Clean Energy also finalized a major development agreement with Montana-Dakota Utilities, a division of MDU Resources Group, acquiring the rights to develop and construct a 107-MW wind facility near Hettinger, N.D., and then sell the project to Montana-Dakota for approximately $200 million, pending regulatory approval.
ALLETE, Inc.
www.allete.com
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