Bankers Commercial, GE Energy Financial Services Purchase Alta I Wind Farm

GE Energy Financial Services, an affiliate of GE, along with Bankers Commercial, which is a unit of UnionBanCal, have proclaimed that they have purchased a Californian Wind Farm.

They have acquired the 150 MW Alta I Wind Farm in Tehachapi, which is located in Kern County in California. They plan to lease it back to the wind farm’s developer, manager and operator, Terra-Gen Power. The wind farm was ready in the fourth quarter of 2010 and includes 100 GE 1.5 MW SLE turbines. Both the companies own 50 % of the wind farm. Terra-Gen would repay the construction loans taken for the project from the sale money.

The Alta Wind I Farm is the First Phase of the 3000 MW Alta Wind Energy Center Project. The first 1550 MW is to be supplied to Southern California Edison. On completion this center would supply electricity to 1.3 million homes in California. According to Terra-Gen’s estimates, this project would create 3000 plus jobs in fields such as manufacturing, construction, maintenance and operation, and thereby contribute $1.2 billion to the economy of Kern County. It would also reduce CO₂ emissions by 52 million metric tons during the next ten years. The wind farms would also assist California to reach its 33% renewable energy source power target by 2020.

According to Kevin Walsh, Managing Director, GE Energy Financial Services, this transaction would be the first of its kind helping a client to escape from their cash flow problems and at the same time continue to operate and manage the project. It also adds to GE’s $6 billion achieved target in renewable energy investments by 2010, and thereby underlining the company’s commitment to ecomagination.

Lance Markowitz, Bankers Commercial’s President, stated that they were eagerly waiting for the long term success of the Alta Wind I project. He was also very appreciative of the Terra-Gen team’s expertise. According to John O’ Connor, Terra-Gen’s Chief Financial Officer, the entire project on completion would yield 3000 MW and hence represented a vital phase of the Alta Wind Energy Center. The project was entitled to get a US Treasury Grant under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.