CORRECT:Constellation To Buy 70-MW Maryland Wind Farm From
Clipper
("UPDATE:Constellation To Buy 70-MW Maryland Wind Farm From Clipper,"
published at 4:44 p.m. EST, incorrectly said Constellation still was in the
process of selling half its nuclear business to EDF in the third paragraph. A
corrected version follows. )
By Cassandra Sweet
Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
U.S. utility and power plant operator Constellation Energy Group Inc. (CEG)
said Monday it will buy a 70-megawatt Maryland wind farm and associated wind
turbines from Clipper Windpower PLC (CWP.LN) as part of a strategy to invest in
renewable energy.
The companies said the Criterion wind farm, being developed in Garrett County,
Md., near the West Virginia state line, will cost about $140 million, although
terms of the deal weren't disclosed.
The deal represents the first direct investment in wind power for
Constellation, which sold half its nuclear business to Electricite de France SA
(EDF.FR) in a $4.5 billion deal that closed this month. A Constellation
executive said earlier this month the company plans to use some of the proceeds
of the sale to purchase power plants.
Constellation, of Baltimore, plans to invest more in renewable energy,
although it hasn't set any specific targets or goals, said Larry McDonnell, a
company spokesman.
"We're looking at renewable energy projects opportunistically," McDonnell
said. "When it's economically viable and there's market demand, it is something
the company considers to be a priority."
Shares of Constellation closed down 26 cents at $31.82 Monday, while shares of
Clipper closed in London 0.5 pence higher at 142.50 pence apiece.
Constellation plans to build, own and operate the wind facility, and sell the
output to Old Dominion Electric Cooperative under a 20-year contract.
Constellation plans to start construction in the spring, with commercial
operation slated for the autumn.
The wind deal, expected to close in the first quarter of 2010, also includes
28 of Clipper's 2.5-megawatt Liberty wind turbines.
Maryland and 34 other U.S. states have renewable-energy requirements or goals
for utilities in those states, which have been driving growth in the U.S.
renewable-energy markets.
Constellation owns Baltimore Gas & Electric, a competitive energy marketing
unit and more than 7,000 megawatts of mostly nuclear and fossil-fuel generation.
The company also installs rooftop solar-panel systems, including a 525-kilowatt
project it is developing at the Patriot Place mall near Gillette Stadium in
Foxborough, Mass.
Constellation and EDF finalized their deal earlier this month, creating a new
joint venture that aims to build new nuclear reactors in the U.S.
Constellation Chief Financial Officer Jonathan Thayer said this month the
company will use money from its deal with EDF to finance power plant
acquisitions, rather than mergers or company acquisitions.
Constellation last December agreed to the proposed nuclear joint venture with
EDF in a move to remain independent, scuttling an earlier buyout agreement with
Warren Buffett's MidAmerican Energy Holdings Co.
-By Cassandra Sweet, Dow Jones Newswires; 415-439-6468; cassandra.sweet@
dowjones.com
(Mark Peters in New York contributed to this article)
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
11-30-091809ET
Copyright (c) 2009 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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