Leading independent energy provider Tenaska closed approximately USD 302 million in commercial financing for Tenaska Clear Creek Energy Center, a 242 MW wind project now under construction in Nodaway County in northwest Missouri. Mr Jay Frisbie, Tenaska senior vice president of finance, said “Tenaska has a reputation for strong power projects that meet the needs of our customers amid ever-changing market conditions. We are pleased that lenders recognize the strength of the Tenaska Clear Creek project, and we look forward to the wind farm becoming operational later this year.”
BNP Paribas, CoBank, Credit Agricole, Helaba and KeyBank are providing the debt financing for the project.
Construction of Tenaska Clear Creek is under way. Vestas, an industry-leading global manufacturer of wind turbines, is supplying 111 wind turbines and will provide maintenance services for the project. Mortenson, a premier builder and provider of energy and engineering services, is the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contractor. Mortenson has installed more than 22,000 MW of wind energy and 11,676 wind turbines and has built 167 wind projects in 30 states and providences across the United States and Canada.
Commercial operation is anticipated in late 2019. When complete, Tenaska Clear Creek will deliver power under a 25-year power purchase agreement with Associated Electric Cooperative, Inc., an electric generation and transmission cooperative based in Springfield, Missouri, that provides wholesale power to six regional cooperatives, including NW Electric Power Cooperative Inc. of Cameron, Missouri, and 51 local cooperative systems in Missouri, southeast Iowa and northeast Oklahoma that serve 910,000 members.
Since its founding in 1987, Tenaska has raised approximately USD 16.7 billion in capital through bank facilities, capital market transactions, corporate facilities and equity, supporting the successful development of approximately 10,300 MW of natural gas-fueled and renewable power projects. Tenaska Clear Creek is the 18th generating project that the company has developed. The current Tenaska operating fleet includes 11 natural gas-fueled and renewable power plants able to generate approximately 8,000 MW combined. This includes the natural gas-fueled Tenaska Westmoreland Generating Station in southwest Pennsylvania, which achieved commercial operation in December 2018.
Source : STRATEGIC RESEARCH INSTITUTE, STEELGURU
