UPDATE: US-Chinese Venture To Develop 600MW Texas Wind Farm
(Updates throughout with details, background, company information and
officials' comments.)
By Ian Talley
Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
WASHINGTON -(Dow Jones)- A joint venture between Chinese and U.S. companies
Thursday announced plans for a $1.5 billion, 600-megawatt wind farm in west
Texas.
Although much of the funding will come from Chinese financiers, part of the
project's capital will also come from the Obama administration's stimulus
package in the form of loan guarantees and grants.
The wind farm, expected to be one of the largest in the country, may help to
highlight a recent administration talking point: the U.S. risks losing the
competitive edge in the renewable energy sector if Congress doesn't approve
climate and clean energy legislation.
The 240 2.5-megawatt wind turbines will be manufactured in China, with
shipments starting in March. The farm is expected to be online in 2011.
While financing and major parts will come from China, the technology will come
from U.S. and European firms. The venture's main firms include the private
equity group U.S. Renewable Energy Group, Texas-based Cielo Wind Power LP,
China's Shenyang Power Group and A-Power Energy Generation Systems (APWR). It
will use technology from General Electric Co. (GE), FUHRLANDER AG, and Norwin.
The city of Shenyang's vice mayor, Yang Yazhou, said the project "would
demonstrate for the first time Chinese capital, manufacturing and engineering
expertise exported to the U.S."
Joe Stark, vice president of finance and business development at Cielo, said
without the stimulus funding the joint venture wouldn't be possible. "Thanks to
the strong policy push and a recovering financing environment, wind projects in
the U.S. are attracting developers and investors alike once again," he said.
Financing for wind power all but dried up in the credit crunch and subsequent
recession. Since many U.S. wind financiers and developers were running losses on
their balance sheets, they couldn't take advantage of tax credits for renewable
energy production.
-By Ian Talley, Dow Jones Newswires; 202-862-9285; Ian.talley@dowjones.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
10-29-091431ET
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