EDF EN Canada Sells a 50% Stake in the Mont Rothery Wind Project
EDF EN Canada Inc., a subsidiary of EDF Energies Nouvelles Group,recently announced that they have closed on the Asset Purchase Agreement with MD1 WIND LP, a limited partnership formed by a consortium (the “Consortium”) of four affiliated entities of the Desjardins Group (“Desjardins”), including Desjardins Group Pension Plan, and Manulife Financial Corporation (“Manulife”), to divest to the Consortium, a 50% interest in the 74 megawatt (MW) Mont Rothery Wind Project.
The Mont Rothery Wind Project, situated on public lands in the MRC of Haute-Gaspésie and MRC of Côte-de-Gaspé, is comprised of 37 wind generating turbines each with a 2 MW capacity. The project reached commercial operation on December 1, 2015. Electricity generated by the project is delivered to Hydro-Quebec Distribution under a 20-year Power Purchase Agreement.
“EDF EN Canada is proud to partner again with very selective infrastructure investors such as Desjardins and Manulife,” commented Raphael Declercq, Vice President of Portfolio Strategy. “The team of EDF EN Canada is excited to bring their expertise as developer, asset manager and operator to this co-ownership.”“Desjardins Group is happy to continue the long term relationship established over the years with partners such as EDF EN and Manulife, with compatible objectives and values, and hope to extend this partnership in the future,” added Sylvain Gareau, Vice President at Desjardins Group Pension.
William Sutherland, Senior Managing Director, Project Finance at Manulife, commented, “Mont Rothery is the second wind project investment in Quebec that Manulife has partnered with Desjardins and EDF EN Canada. We are very pleased to have been given the opportunity to work with such a strong established institutional partner as Desjardins and becoming a co-owning partner with a world leading wind developer and operator in EDF EN.”EDF EN Canada will remain involved in the project as a 50% co-owner and will provide management services. EDF Renewable Services will continue to provide a portion of the current operations and maintenance services as well as 24/7 remote monitoring from its Operations Control Center (OCC).
