Sep 23 2013
Competitive Power Ventures (CPV), GE Energy Financial Services and ArcLight Capital Partners announced today that they have closed financing for the $842 million CPV Woodbridge Energy Center.
CPV Woodbridge Energy Center. (PRNewsFoto/Competitive Power Ventures)
GE is providing financing, advanced power generation technology and services for the electric generating facility under construction in Woodbridge, New Jersey — six miles from where Thomas Edison designed the world’s first reliable electric light bulb 134 years ago.
The project is owned by Competitive Power Ventures, ArcLight Capital Partners and Toyota Tsusho and will be operated by an affiliate of co-owner ArcLight. It is expected to sell its capacity through 15-year Standard Offer Capacity Agreements (SOCA) with New Jersey utilities, and energy through a hedge.
The CPV Woodbridge project will help turn the site of a former chemical plant into a productive cleaner power generation facility. It will generate enough electricity to power 700,000 homes, helping New Jersey meet its energy demand while improving the state electric system’s reliability and environmental profile. Construction of the project begins this quarter, and it is expected to enter commercial operation as soon as the first quarter of 2016.
“Land reclamation, environmental benefits, strong community acceptance, a powerful economic impact and labor support: This project is what smart energy development looks like in 2013,” said Gary Lambert, president of Competitive Power Ventures. “We thank New Jersey Governor Chris Christie and Woodbridge Mayor John E. McCormac for their vision and their staffs’ hard work.”
GE Energy Financial Services served as the administrative agent, and — through GE Capital Markets, Inc. — as CPV Woodbridge Energy Center’s primary lead arranger and bookrunner to anchor $561 million in senior secured credit facilities. GE Energy Financial Services and nine banks are providing the credit facilities. Financial details were not disclosed.
GE’s Power & Water business is supplying its FlexEfficiency* 60 combined-cycle technology as well as engineering services for the 700-megawatt, natural gas-powered project. GE also will support the long-term availability of the CPV Woodbridge Energy Center through a 16-year contractual services agreement (CSA).
“We have a long relationship with GE, a proven company that provides the full scope of project needs, from financing to equipment and services,” added Lambert. “GE’s advanced, highly efficient and flexible combined-cycle technology will help us provide one of the most competitive energy sources to New Jersey’s ratepayers.”
Included in the project’s $260 million GE equipment and services order is the company’s FlexEfficiency 60 combined-cycle engineered equipment package. The package comprises two, fast-start 216-megawatt 7F 5-series gas turbine generators, one D-11A steam turbine generator in a “2x1” configuration and two duct-fired, triple-pressure reheat heat recovery steam generators. It also includes the CSA.
“GE can uniquely offer customers financing, generating equipment and services on a large scale,” said Vic Abate, president and CEO — Power Generation Products for GE Power & Water. “This package will help ensure the success of the CPV Woodbridge Energy Center, meet the affordable energy needs of New Jersey residents and support manufacturing jobs.”
GE’s two fast-start 7F-5 gas turbines will be manufactured in Greenville, SC, while the D-11A steam turbine and three electric generators will be made in Schenectady, NY. GE’s 7F-5 gas turbine is a reliable, fast-ramping machine with high efficiency, low emissions and low turndown capability to support the integration of renewables. It builds on GE’s F-class technology with more than 1,100 gas turbines installed globally, accumulating nearly 50 million operating hours.
The project debt that GE Capital Markets, Inc. arranged is the first sizeable project financing of a greenfield, partial-merchant power project to be broadly syndicated in the traditional project finance bank market in many years. The debt syndication was oversubscribed, reflecting the project’s strong fundamentals.
“By providing both capital and technology for the Woodbridge Energy Center, we are applying our skills as banker and builder, drawing on our financial strength, risk management and technical know-how,” said Alex Urquhart, president and CEO of GE Energy Financial Services. “These skills are especially important when working with customers with whom we have long-standing relationships – CPV, ArcLight and Toyota Tsusho.”
CPV Woodbridge will provide economic benefits to the community -- up to 500 skilled workers during construction, 25 full-time workers, tax revenue and contributions to a broader initiative to create public access to the Raritan River.