M&A News

Canadian Solar entered into a definitive agreement with Sharp Corporation to acquire Recurrent Energy, for approximately $265 million. Once completed, the acquisition of Recurrent will increase Canadian Solar's total solar project pipeline by approximately 4.0 GW to 8.5 GW, and its late-stage project pipeline by approximately 1.0 GW to 2.4 GW. Total consideration for the acquisition of Recurrent is approximately $265 million in cash.

Emera closed the sale of its 49% interest in Northeast Wind Partners II (Northeast Wind) to First Wind Holdings (First Wind) has closed. The proposed sale was announced in November 2014. Northeast Wind owns and operates 419 MW of wind generating assets located in the northeast United States. First Wind purchased Emera's interest in Northeast Wind for $223.3 million. Emera's carrying value of its 49% interest as of December 31^st, 2014, was $204.4 million.

Dominion closed on the acquisition of the CID Solar Project near Corcoran, Calif., from EDF Renewable Energy. The companies announced the purchase and sale agreement in June 2014. The 20-MW facility completed the conditions of the acquisition and closed on Dec. 11, 2014. It commenced operations on December 22. The project provides power to the San Francisco-based electric utility Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) under a 20-year PPA. Terms of the CID transaction are not available.

TerraForm acquired 21 U.S. distributed generation solar power plants comprising 26 MW from SunEdison through a series of transactions valued at $47 million. The 21 power plants have long-term contracts with an average remaining life of 20 years. The portfolio has high quality counterparties including municipalities, schools and businesses and is geographically diverse, with plants located in seven US states. TerraForm has funded the purchase of these call right projects with cash on hand.  

Accenture entered into an agreement to acquire Structure, a provider of consulting, system integration and customized solutions and services to energy and utilities clients. The transaction will expand and enhance Accenture's deep experience and capabilities in smart grid solutions, especially grid operations, as well as energy commodity trading and risk management (CTRM). Terms of the transaction were not disclosed, and the acquisition is subject to regulatory review and other customary closing conditions.

Duke Energy Renewables (Duke) acquired the Halifax Solar Power Project, a 20-MW solar project in Roanoke Rapids, N.C., from Geenex and ET Solar Energy Corp. Duke will own and operate the site. The project is located in Dominion North Carolina Power's service territory, and the energy generated from the solar site will be sold through a 15-year agreement with the utility. The system employs 866 AE 3TL string inverters of 23.2KW AC capacity each and has about 100,000 ET Solar and Chint solar modules.

ALLETE Clean Energy (ALLETE) finalized the acquisition of Storm Lake 1, a wind generation facility in Storm Lake, Iowa, adding another 108 MW to its renewable energy portfolio. ALLETE paid $15 million to NRG Energy to acquire the facility, which is adjacent to Storm Lake 2, a 78-MW wind farm purchased by ALLETE earlier this year. Both Storm Lake installations use 750 kW Zond turbines and are adjacent to each other in northwest Iowa.

Pattern Energy Group (the “Company” or “Pattern Energy”), acquired the 200-MW Logan’s Gap Wind project in Texas, which is currently under construction, from Pattern Energy Group LP (“Pattern Development”). The Company acquired the Logan’s Gap Wind project for a total cash funding commitment of approximately $113 million, a portion of which will be used to pay down construction debt upon the completion of construction. The acquisition will be funded from available cash and credit facilities.

Dominion Resources agreed to purchase Carolina Gas Transmission (CGT) from SCANA Corporation for approximately $492.9 million. The company plans to close on the acquisition in January 2015. The transaction would include no assumption of debt and, upon closing, would be immediately accretive to Dominion's operating earnings per share. Subject to board approvals by Dominion and Dominion Midstream Partners, Dominion expects to contribute CGT into Dominion Midstream for a combination of debt and units by mid-year 2015.

Starwood Energy Group Global, a private investment firm focused on energy infrastructure, announced that an affiliate has entered into an agreement with Lakeside Energy to acquire Lakeside Generation, a 369-MW portfolio of three natural gas facilities, one located in Pennsylvania and two in New York. The portfolio consists of Hazleton, a 158-MW peaking facility in Pennsylvania; Syracuse, a 103-MW combined cycle facility in New York; and Beaver Falls, a 108-MW cogeneration combined cycle facility in New York.