Feb 6 2014
NJR Clean Energy Ventures, the unregulated distributed power subsidiary of New Jersey Resources (NJR), today announced that it has agreed to acquire its second onshore wind project.
The Carroll Area wind farm project will be located on 1,100 acres of rural agricultural land in Carroll County, Iowa, approximately 65 miles northwest of Des Moines. NJRCEV will invest approximately $42 million to construct, own and operate the wind farm with a total capacity of 20 megawatts.
“With the Carroll Area wind farm project, NJR Clean Energy Ventures continues to successfully execute its distributed power strategic plan,” said Laurence M. Downes, chairman and CEO of New Jersey Resources. “As renewable energy becomes an increasingly larger and important part of our nation’s energy future, we will continue to identify investment opportunities that strengthen our distributed power portfolio, reduce our reliance on investment tax credits from solar investments, benefit our company and shareowners and are consistent with our core values of quality service and environmental stewardship.”
NJRCEV agreed to acquire the shovel-ready Carroll Area wind farm project from OwnEnergy, Inc., a developer of midsize and community wind projects. It will be the second wind farm project purchased from OwnEnergy; the first was the Montana-based Two Dot wind farm in 2013. NJRCEV maintains an approximate 19 percent ownership position in OwnEnergy and holds an option to purchase projects that fit its investment profile.
The energy produced at the Carroll Area wind farm, as well as the renewable attributes, will be sold through a 25-year power purchase agreement with MidAmerican Energy, Iowa’s largest energy company serving approximately 734,000 electric customers in Iowa, Illinois and South Dakota and more than 712,000 natural gas customers in Iowa, Illinois, South Dakota and Nebraska. MidAmerican is owned by Berkshire Hathaway, Inc.
Additionally, NJRCEV expects the wind farm will qualify for federal production tax credits (PTC’s), which are based on kilowatt-hour output. All PTCs generated by the Carroll Area wind farm will be retained by NJR.
NJRCEV will engage Mortenson Construction for the engineering, procurement and construction of the project. A leader in renewable energy construction, Mortenson has completed over 124 wind projects, totaling over 13,000 megawatts of clean, renewable energy, since 1995. NJRCEV expects the wind farm will be operational by spring 2015.
NJRCEV invests in, owns and operates distributed power projects that generate clean energy and provide low-carbon energy solutions. These solutions benefit its customers, while providing growth opportunities for shareholders. To date, NJRCEV’s approach has focused on commercial and residential solar project development in New Jersey and expanded to include onshore wind projects in the Midwestern United States.
Source: http://www.njresources.com/