Infigen to sell 1.1GW US wind farm portfolio

www.environmental-finance.com
20 August

Australian windfarm developer Infigen Energy has put its US assets up for sale, in order to focus on its domestic market. The firm, which was known as Babcock and Brown Wind Partners until April this year, said on Monday it had appointed Marathon Capital and UBS to sell "all or part" of its US wind portfolio, which comprises 18 wind farms with a total installed capacity of 1,557MW.

The firm described the package of wind farms as "the largest independent portfolio of wind energy generating assets in the US … well diversified across energy market regions, wind regimes, off-take counterparties and turbine suppliers". The assets, in which Infigen Energy's equity ownership is 1,089MW, represent more than two-thirds of its total generating capacity. The firm did not place a value on the portfolio, but equity analysts have reportedly said it could be worth A$500-1,000 million (US$415-830 million).

Tim Stephure, an analyst at Emerging Energy Research based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, said portfolio acquisitions of this magnitude are rare and he was hesitant about putting a price on the deal. Completed wind projects have generally fetched $2,500-$2,700 per kW – a level at which the Infigen Energy portfolio would be worth close to $3 billion.

He noted that the financial crisis has crippled acquisition activity, but "optimism in regards to the state of the economy, combined with more details emerging in several new incentives and renewables policies, is fueling renewed interest". However, recent deals have been for technologies rather than assets, such as Daewoo's acquisition of US wind turbine maker DeWind and GE Energy's purchase of offshore wind turbine technology firm ScanWind.

An Infigen Energy spokeswoman said proceeds from the sale would be used to "accelerate development opportunities in Australia" where the firm has a pipeline of more than 1,000MW. Infigen Energy's shares, listed on the Australian Stock Exchange, climbed 8% on the news, closing at A$1.33 on Monday, compared with A$1.23 last Friday. Today, its shares closed at A$1.38. Earlier this year, Infigen Energy announced plans to sell its 19 wind farms in France and Germany, which have a combined capacity of 190MW.