Press Release
| July 29, 2010
Dewey & LeBoeuf Represents Citibank, N.A. in Connection with the First Leveraged Lease of Wind Generating Facilities
(Los Angeles, New York, July 29, 2010) — Dewey & LeBoeuf recently represented Citibank, N.A. (“Citibank”) in connection with the first leveraged lease of wind generating facilities. Citibank committed to purchase the Alta Wind II, III, IV and V projects (the “Alta Wind Projects”) from the projects’ developer, Terra-Gen Power, LLC (“Terra-Gen”) and lease them back to a subsidiary of Terra-Gen. The Alta Wind Projects will have a combined capacity of 570 megawatts and will comprise a portion of the 3,000 megawatt Alta Wind Energy Center being developed by Terra-Gen in California’s Tehachapi-Mojave region, approximately 75 miles north of Los Angeles.
The Alta Wind Energy Center is the most ambitious wind energy development to begin development to date and is expected to provide over four times the capacity of the world’s largest existing wind farm. In addition to the equity commitment of Citibank, the Alta Wind Projects secured $1.2 billion of financing including the issuance of approximately $580 million of pass through certificates due 2035 via a Rule 144A offering, a construction bridge loan facility of $499 million and ancillary credit facilities of $127 million. Southern California Edison has agreed to purchase 1,550 megawatts of power from the Alta Wind Energy Center (including the entire capacity of the Alta Wind Projects), pursuant to one of the most substantial power purchase agreements executed to date. The Alta Wind transaction has been heralded as a wind power bellwether that will have a significant impact on the renewable energy industry.
Junaid Chida, Sean Moran and Michael Joyce led the effort in structuring, documenting and negotiating the leveraged lease financing, with assistance from Trevor Shelton, Jorge Medina, Nicole Gambino, and Deidrie Stone. Also critical to the effort were Mike Duff, Hugh Hilliard, John Renneisen, Brian Taylor, Amanda England and Alex Amirsaleh.
This memorandum is intended only as a general discussion of these issues. It is not considered to be legal advice. We would be pleased to provide additional details or advice about specific situations. For additional information on this important topic, please feel free to call upon your Dewey & LeBoeuf relationship partner. No part of this publication may be reproduced, in whole or in part, in any form, without our prior written consent.
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