M&A News

Canadian Solar Solutions entered into an agreement with a fund managed by BlackRock, whereby BlackRock will acquire from Canadian Solar the 10 MW Oro-Medonte (Oro) solar power plant. The fourth utility-scale solar power plant purchased by BlackRock is located in the Township of Oro-Medonte and is scheduled to start construction in the first quarter of 2014, with commercial operation expected in the third quarter of 2014. Canadian Solar is providing turnkey EPC services to complete the project and will provide operation and maintenance services after completion.

Sunrun acquired the residential division of REC Solar, AEE Solar and SnapNrack. The companies represent Mainstream Energy's residential solar sales, design and installation; wholesale distribution; and mounting systems and hardware businesses, respectively. In the commercial market, REC Solar will continue as an independent organization under the legal name REC Solar Commercial. The value of the transaction was not disclosed.

ALLETE Clean Energy (ALLETE) finalized the purchase of wind farms in Minnesota, Iowa and Oregon from AES. ALLETE acquired the operating wind energy projects for $27 million and all three wind farms - with a total output of 231 MW - have PPAs in place for their entire electric output. ALLETE also signed in November an option agreement to acquire a fourth wind farm from AES in mid-2015. Pursuant to that option agreement, ALLETE will have an option to acquire the 101MW Armenia Mountain, Penn., wind farm.

South Carolina Electric & Gas (SCE&G) and Santee Cooper established an agreement for SCE&G to acquire from Santee Cooper a 5 percent ownership interest in the two new nuclear units which are currently under construction at V.C. Summer Station in Jenkinsville, S.C. Under the terms of the transaction, SCE&G will own 60 percent of the new nuclear units and Santee Cooper, 40 percent. The purchase price is anticipated to be approximately $500 million for the entire 5 percent interest based on current project cost.

TransCanada reached an agreement to sell Cancarb Limited (Cancarb) and its related power generation facility to Tokai Carbon for aggregate gross proceeds of $190 million, plus customary adjustments. The transaction is expected to close late in the first quarter of 2014, subject to various approvals. Cancarb is the world's largest producer of "thermal carbon black," a specialized form of carbon derived from super-heated natural gas, which is used in a wide range of industrial and automotive products.

Integrys Energy Group and the infrastructure equity investment fund BBIP (Balfour Beatty Infrastructure Partners LP) entered into a definitive agreement in which Integrys will sell 100 percent of the stock of Upper Peninsula Power Company (UPPCO) to BBIP. UPPCO is a regulated electric utility business providing distribution and power supply service to approximately 52,000 residential, commercial and industrial customers in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.

EDF Renewable Energy acquired the 194-MW Spinning Spur 3 Wind Project from Cielo Wind Power (Cielo). Spinning Spur 3 is located on approximately 18,000 acres in Oldham County, Texas, roughly 50 miles west of Amarillo. The project expects commercial operation by the end of 2015 utilizing ERCOT's new CREZ transmission lines.

Arizona Public Service completed its purchase of Southern California Edison's (SCE) ownership in Units 4 and 5 of the Four Corners Power Plant near Farmington, N.M. As part of its plan - originally announced in November 2010 - APS has permanently closed the plant's older, less efficient Units 1, 2 and 3, and will install additional emission controls on the remaining units. Acquiring SCE's 48 percent interest in the larger Units 4 and 5 will increase APS's total Four Corners capacity from 791 MW to 970 MW.

Alterra Power sold half of its 51% interest in the Dokie 1 wind farm to Fiera Axium Western Energy. Alterra received initial sales proceeds of $28,625,000, and may receive further earn-out payments of up to $2,250,000 over the next three years depending on asset performance. Alterra will retain 25.5% ownership of Dokie 1, and will continue to operate and manage the project.

Canadian Solar’s subsidiary, CSI Holdco LLC sold two utility-scale solar power plants totaling 4.4 MW to PSEG subsidiary, PSEG Solar Source. The plants have a 20-year off taking agreement with PG&E. The solar installations, together now called the PSEG Shasta Solar Farm, is built at over 3,300 feet in elevation between Mount Lassen and Mount Shasta located in northern California. Construction started in July of 2013, with commercial operation expected in early 2014.