The Mont Miller wind farm was co-developed by Northland and 3Ci Inc., a Quebec-based developer, and achieved commercial operation in 2005. Mont Miller has a contract to sell all of its power to Hydro-Quebec until 2026.
‘NextEra Energy Canada owns the Copper Mountain wind farm next door to Mont Miller and the two projects are virtually identical,’ said Northland Power CEO John Brace. ‘We were not seeking a buyer for Mont Miller, and in fact we are actively pursuing other wind farm opportunities in Quebec, but consolidation of the two projects made sense for operating and maintenance efficiencies. — In the end, we found it advantageous to sell.’
After the sale, Northland’s operating assets total 815 megawatts of generating capacity. The company also has a development pipeline of 3,300 megawatts, of which 683 megawatts have power contracts, with 446 megawatts of those under construction.
Northland recently closed $106 million in non-recourse debt financing for a 100 MW wind farm under construction near Mont Louis in Quebec’s Gaspesie region. The company is also building the 260 MW North Battleford natural-gas-fired combined cycle facility and the 86 MW Spy Hill natural-gas-fired peaking plant, both in Saskatchewan. All three projects are on budget and on or ahead of schedule. All energy produced by these projects will be sold under long term contracts to provincially-backed power authorities.
When all projects under construction are completed in 2013, Northland’s net generating capacity will exceed 1,250 megawatts, an increase of over 50%.
Northland will use the proceeds of the Mont Miller sale to fund future development and for general corporate purposes. The company does not anticipate the sale of any other properties.
Northland is a Canadian income trust that has ownership or economic interests in 9 power projects totalling over 1,050 MW (net 815 MW). Northland’s assets comprise natural-gas-fired plants which efficiently and cleanly produce electricity and steam as well as facilities generating renewable energy from wind and biomass. Sales are made almost entirely under long-term contracts with a current weighted average duration of 14 years. Northland’s plants are located in Canada, the United States and Germany.
In addition, Northland has the 86 MW Spy Hill project, 260 MW North Battleford project and 100 MW Mont Louis wind farm in construction, and 216 MW of wind, solar and run-of-river hydro projects awarded under the Ontario Power Authority’s feed-in-tariff program in advanced stages of development. Northland also has a diverse development portfolio of high-quality ‘Clean and Green’ energy projects, including wind, solar, natural gas, and hydro assets that supports its strategy of sustainable growth primarily through internally developed opportunities.
The Fund’s trust units, two series of convertible debentures, and Northland Power Preferred Equity Inc.’s preferred shares, which trade on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbols NPI.UN, NPI.DB, NPI.DB.A, and NPP.PR.A respectively, are qualified investments for RRSPs and DPSPs under the Canadian Income Tax Act. The Fund has in place a distribution re- investment plan that allows Unitholders who are residents of Canada to automatically have their monthly cash distributions reinvested in additional units. Participants do not pay any costs associated with the plan, including brokerage commissions. For further information or to join the plan, contact your financial advisor or broker.
