Under the agreement with Bank of America Merrill Lynch and J.P. Morgan, investors will contribute $365 million to the wind farm’s owner Rock Creek Holdings in exchange for 100 percent of ‘Class B’ equity interests in the project. This will allow the investors, under certain conditions set by US tax laws, to obtain a percentage of the fiscal benefits. In turn, EGPNA, through Rock Creek Holdings will retain 100 percent ownership of the ‘Class A’ interests and therefore management control of the project. This kind of agreement is common for the development of renewable energy projects in the United States.
The agreement secures the funding commitment by the two investors, and the closing of the funding is expected to occur upon completion of construction and achievement of commercial operation of the farm. The tax equity partnership will be supported by a parent company guarantee from Enel S.p.A.
Construction of the Rock Creek wind farm began in October 2016 and is expected to start operating by the end of 2017. It is EGPNA’s first wind project in Missouri and will be able to generate around 1,250 GWh per year, providing enough energy to meet the annual consumption needs of more than 100,000 average US households while avoiding the emissions of around 900,000 tonnes of CO2 per year.
EGPNA is part of the Renewable Energies division of the Enel Group and is a leading owner and operator of renewable energy plants in North America. It has projects operating and under development in 23 US states and two Canadian provinces and operates around 100 plants with a managed capacity exceeding 3.3 GW powered by renewable hydropower, wind, geothermal and solar energy. Enel Green Power has a presence in Europe, the Americas, Asia, Africa and Oceania and has a managed capacity of 38 GW across a generation mix that includes wind, solar, geothermal, biomass and hydropower. It is at the forefront of integrating innovative technologies like storage systems into renewables power plants.
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