By Gary Thomas
Alcoa, a leading manufacturer of alumina, fabricated aluminum and primary aluminum has agreed to sell its 351-MW Tapoco Hydroelectric Project to Brookfield Renewable Energy Partners. Brookfield Renewable Energy Partners handles one of the largest pure-play and publicly-traded renewable power platforms.
Tapoco located on Cheoah and the Little Tennessee Rivers in western North Carolina and eastern Tennessee is a four-station hydroelectric project operated by Alcoa Power Generating.
Alcoa Power Generating is a subsidiary unit of Alcoa. The transaction will comprise 86 miles of transmission line, about 14,500 ac of land surrounding and associated with Tapoco, and 4 generating dams and stations.
A profit of $600 million is expected to be received by Alcoa as an outcome of this sales transaction. This profit is subject to state regulatory and customary federal approvals. This transaction is expected to close towards the end of 2012.
Licensed by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), Tapoco Hydroelectric Project was developed by Alcoa in order to supply power for its rolling mill and aluminum smelting operations in Alcoa, Tenn.
Alcoa Power Generating besides developing the modern-day aluminum industry, has also contributed its innovations in the following areas that include commercial transportation, automotive, packaging, consumer electronics, aerospace, industrial markets and construction.
Source: http://www.alcoa.com/global/en/home.asp