NextEra Energy Inc. 's ( NEE ) business wing
NextEra Energy Resources LLC concluded the sale of its entire
equity interest in White Pine Hydro Investments LLC to a subsidiary
of Brookfield Renewable Energy Partners L.P.
NextEra Energy will receive approximately $760.0 million as
proceeds from this transaction, subject to closing adjustments,
which also includes the current $700 million of non-recourse debt.
The agreement for the divestiture of interests was previously
announced on Dec 21, 2012.
The White Pine asset portfolio comprised of a total of 351
megawatts ("MW") of hydroelectric generation properties in Maine
and New Hampshire and is licensed to NextEra Energy Resources'
ancillary, FPL Energy Maine Hydro, LLC. Annually the generation
capacity from these units totals 1.6 million megawatt-hours.
Although the company is disposing all of its hydropower plants
in Maine, NextEra will still be left with roughly 800 MW of
oil-fired production capacity in the region.
The hydroelectric assets are situated across three major river
systems -- the Kennebec River System, the Saco River System and the
Androscoggin River System. The resources at Maine include
hydroelectric generation facilities along with interests in eight
storage reservoirs in New Hampshire as well as in Maine. A project
is also located in the Presumpscot River System.
The purpose behind the asset sale is to focus on power
generation in areas which have higher prospects. The company
intends to utilize the gains from this transaction to plough back
in renewable programs of wind and solar as well as in expanding its
natural gas midstream businesses.
We believe the company's sizeable renewable basket will lend
significant upside to returns, going forward. The expected rise in
renewable consumption in the coming years on account of increasing
preference for clean energy generation in the U.S. will further
complement NextEra's growth trajectory.
However, the company's recent plan for upgrading its power
infrastructures in Florida might lead to cost pressure, going
forward. Currently, NextEra Energy carries a Zacks Rank #3
(Hold).
We presently prefer Zacks Ranked #1 (Strong Buy) utility players
Otter Tail Corporation ( OTTR ) and
Pike Electric Corporation ( PIKE ) and Zacks
Ranked #2 (Buy) The AES Corporation ( AES ).
Headquartered in Juno Beach, FL, NextEra Energy together with
its subsidiaries is engaged in the generation, transmission,
distribution, and sale of electric energy in the United States and
Canada.
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