Aligning Green Power Partners with New Renewable Energy Projects Pilot Project Summary Dogtown Wind LLC


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Aligning Green Power Partners with New Renewable Energy Projects
Pilot Project Summary
Please return the completed summary via email to Blaine Collison, Green Power Partnership Director,
collison.blaine@epa.gov / 202-343-9139
Project Name: Dogtown Wind LLC
Developer Name: Akuo Energy USA, Inc.
Renewable Energy Type: Wind Energy
Total Planned Megawatt (MW) Size:	Phasel:80MW	Phase II: 100MW
Project Location: Ford County, Illinois
Is the project permitted?:
No.
If not, what is the permit status?:
Both Phases will go before Ford County for Special Use Permit in Q2 2012.
What is the status of the project's site?:
5400 acres is fully under Developer control, with long-term leases executed and
recorded for 45 years.
Have land leases been filed with the county?:
Yes.
What is the status of interconnection, and have system impact and facility studies been completed?
(Distribution or transmission level projects are both eligible):

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The project will connect via three mile interconnect transmission corridor to the Ameren
'Paxton' substation , within the Midwest ISO. System impact and facility studies have
been completed.
Does the transmission owner (TO) or independent system operator (ISO) have a process to study the
project's impact on the local or regional grid and the subsequent cost to interconnect?:
Yes. The project's impact has been studied by Ameren (the TO) and MISO respectively.
What is the status of the Environmental Impact Statement?:
All environmental studies, including wetland, cultural, and bird, and bat surveys, are
completed. We have had extensive discussions with both the state and federal
agencies regarding project impacts. Based on the low environmental risk of this site, as
well as our extensive preemptive avoidance measures, we have are proceeding to a
Technical Assistance Letter from the US Fish and Wildlife Service and no Environmental
Impact Statement is required.
Is any element of the project - technology or other - experimental or pilot-phase?:
No. The project is using commercial-grade, utility-scale wind turbines manufactured in
the USA with a proven track record.
What is the long- and short-term operations program of the project? Does the renewable energy
technology manufacturer have a technical support team locally available?:
The project will utilize one of the major utility-scale wind turbine manufacturers, with
significant installed capacity in the area. For the short- to mid-term, the turbines will be
under manufacturer's warranty for two years after construction, and will be operated
onsite by full-time manufacturer Operations & Maintenance technicians for up to 10
years. Thereafter, the project will either elect to extend the manufacturer's O&M
agreement, or contract a reputable 3rd party O&M contractor through the end of the
life of the project.
For wind projects, has a meteorological tower been installed? If yes, when was the tower installed
and how much data has been collected?:
Yes. An 80m met tower has been operating on site and collected for over 3 years of
qualified data.
Who has analyzed the data and what is that person's experience with respect to projects that have
actually been financed?:

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The data has been analyzed in partnership with Hatch, one of the world's leading
providers of renewable energy solutions to developers, investors, utilities, and
governments. Akuo Energy has contracted Hatch to perform met tower installation,
data acquisition and QA/QC, monthly reporting, and the preparation of bankable
wind resource assessment report including net energy yield and uncertainty analysis.
Over 3 years of data measurement Hatch has achieved a 99% data recovery rate
which is excellent by industry standards.
Can the turbine manufacturer be financed through "traditional" tax equity and debt in the U.S.?:
Yes, the turbine manufacturer is a leading supplier to the US wind industry, with a proven
track record of performance internationally. Several projects using the turbine
manufacturer's technology have been financed this way is the US.
Provide a short summary of how you view project finance and structure/ownership:
Akuo intends to structure the projects on a non-recourse project finance basis. The
planned structure is a Tax Equity Flip structure, through either a Partnership or a single
lease investor, depending on what is most optimal for the project.
In a typical Tax Equity Partnership, the Tax Equity Investor and the Sponsor form a
Partnership designed to provide all the tax benefits to the Tax Equity Investor. A
division of the cash distributions provides the Tax Equity Investor with its agreed
return, consistent with optimal tax efficiency. . The partnerships are designed
such that , in the base case, once the tax benefits inherent in a project have
been effectively monetized and the tax equity investor has reached its target
after-tax yield, the tax equity's share of taxable income and cash distributions
"flip" down to a minority percentage.
In the Sale\Leasebacks structure, the Sponsor sells the Project to a Lessor
beneficially owned by the Tax Equity Investor for 100% of its Fair Market Value at
COD and simultaneously leases the Project back for a term. The Sponsor will use
the proceeds to create rent and O&M reserves, and to prepay a portion of the
rent due under the Lease. The rentals under the Lease are optimized to provide
for the lowest present value of rent to the Sponsor consistent with tax
requirements and the Investor's return requirements.

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What are your ideal types of prospective institutions/partners?:
Dogtown Wind Farm seeks the partnership of an interested electricity offtakeror
consumer to benefit from the long-term price stability the project would offer. Since
wind energy does not bear the risk of fuel prices- whether coal, oil, natural gas, or
uranium- the project is able to guarantee the price of electricity for 20 years and longer.
The partner would play an essential role in the creation of local jobs, the promotion
home-grown, renewable power, the increase in tax and commerce revenue for a rural
community, and the transition to a more sustainable, clean energy economy.
Additionally, Illinois is the ideal location for a project of this size, since it has a
deregulated electricity market. Producing between 120,000-140,OOOMWh per year, the
project can service the electricity needs of a large load-consuming entity, such as a
factory, university or municipal utility at a competitive price, while locking in low
electricity rates long-term. Further, a large company with multiple locations that
chooses to purchase the electricity from the wind farm would enjoy long-term rate
stability while benefitting from the same consistent, reliable connection to the electricity
grid.
What is the intended off-take for the renewable power with respect to bundled or unbundled
products and is there a preference?
The ideal off-take partner would purchase the electricity bundled with the Renewable
Energy Credits, although the purchase of the RECs would not be mandatory.

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