First Wind gets $369M for wind project
First Wind has obtained $369 million in financing for its 148-megawatt Oakfield Wind project, according to a press release.
“By securing financing, we will be able to continue construction activities on our sixth wind project in Maine,” First Wind CEO Paul Gaynor said of the Aroostook County project.
Today’s announcement comes weeks after the Maine Department of Environmental Protection asked the Boston-based company if it had enough money to fund its four wind projects in Maine.
The Maine Supreme Judicial Court in March rejected a proposal by First Wind to partner with Nova Scotia-based energy company Emera Inc. The partnership would have provided First Wind with millions in funding.
First Wind’s $369 million financing package comprises a $237 million construction loan administered by KeyBank National Association and $132 million in an equity contribution.
Gaynor said it will allow construction to continue on the project, which is scheduled to be operational by the end of 2015. He said it will provide Oakfield with about $27 million in tax revenue over the next 20 years.
Earlier this month, a 12-page memo by state officials recommended that the Board of Environmental Protection deny a separate First Wind project, a $100 million, 16-turbine facility on Bowers Mountain in Penobscot County. The BEP was expected to consider the proposal this morning.
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