US renewable energy company NaturEner has secured a $320m construction loan from Morgan Stanley to build a 189MW wind farm in Montana.
NaturEner has given the green light to contractors and the Rim Rock facility is now forecast to be operational by the end of this year. Once complete, the San Diego Gas & Electric Company (SDG&E) is expected to make a tax equity contribution to the project worth around $285m, subject to certain conditions.
The tax equity investment, the first of its kind for a California utility, is a unique transaction designed to pass through to SDG&E customers lower utility financing costs. Electricity produced at Rock Rim will contribute around 3.5 per cent of SDG&E's renewable portfolio per year.
The project will have access to markets in the west US, as well as Alberta and British Columbia in Canada, via the Montana Alberta Tie Line (MATL). NaturEner was awarded 300MW of transmission rights on the line through a Federal Energy Regulatory Commission process conducted from 2005 to 2006.
Jose Sanchez-Seara, CEO of NaturEner, said, 'Rim Rock is an innovative project that is the result of tremendous effort not only from our team but also our partners at Morgan Stanley and SDG&E. We have been thrilled with the broad support we have received for Rim Rock from landowners, ratepayer advocates, the Montana government, labour unions and other stakeholders. Rim Rock is our third Montana-based project and we are excited to be building it this year.'
He added, 'We greatly appreciate the US government's support for renewable energy generation and the transmission lines that allow them to deliver the energy to markets across North America.'