V SEPA GREEN POWER PARTNERSHIP9 Aligning Green Power Partners with New Renewable Energy Projects Pilot Project Summary Project Name Apple Blossom Wind Farm Developer Name: Geronimo Energy Contact: Drew Terwilliger, drewffigeronimoenergy.com Renewable Energy Type: Wind Farm Total Planned Megawatt Size: 100 MW Project Location: Huron County, Michigan Is the project permitted?: Yes, all portions of the public permitting have been completed. Project is ready to move into final permitting stages. If no, what is the permit status?: Yes, all portions of the public permitting have been completed and the project has a commercial operation date of 12/31/2014. What is the status of the project's site?: The Apple Blossom Wind Farm Project is located in Michigan's Thumb region, the area with the highest- quality wind resource in the state. The Apple Blossom project is situated on approximately 10,275 acres of farmland and will consist of between 43 and 66 wind turbines. ------- Have land leases been filed with the county?: Yes, Geronimo currently has 10,275 acres under full lease, representing 100% of the land needed to site the 100 MW Apple Blossom project. The local team is working on an additional 1800 acres that could potentially enhance the project. Geronimo has entered into signed agreements with landowners in the form of Land Lease and Wind Easement. Land leases have been filed with the county. What is the status of interconnection, and have system impact and facility studies been completed? (Distribution or transmission level projects are both eligible): Apple Blossom will connect to the new Thumb loop 345kV double circuit transmission line that is currently under construction in Michigan. A system Impact Study and Facilities Study has been completed for the Apple Blossom Project. Apple Blossom will receive 100MW of Network Resource Interconnection Service (NRIS) and will have a non-provisional generator agreement. Due to a $510 Million project designed to fulfill an order of the Michigan Public Service Commission to plan transmission to deliver up to 4,236 MW of wind from the thumb area, it is anticipated that there will be ample capacity in the thumb area resulting in very low congestion costs, losses, and curtailment risks for the Apple Blossom location. 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 Midwest Independent System Operation (MISO) performs a Feasibility Study, System Impact Study, and Facilities Study before executing an Interconnection Agreement. All of the studies and the Interconnection Agreement have been completed for the Apple Blossom Wind Farm. Environmental Impact Statement status: Apple Blossom has been designed to have low environmental risk. The Project is located on predominately agricultural land which is compatible with wind energy development. This design is based on detailed environmental review of the site for wetlands, avian activity, bat activity and the regional infrastructure system. These studies have been underway since February 2011. Geronimo is currently developing operational plans to ensure that this low environmental impact continues through the life of the project. Is any element of the project - technology or other - experimental or pilot-phase?: No, the project will use existing, proven technology. No part of the project will be experimental or pilot- phase. 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 have a 5 to 10 year operations and maintenance agreement with the turbine supplier. The turbine supplier's maintenance team will be located near the project. Discussions with multiple turbine suppliers are currently underway, no turbine supplier has been chosen as of yet, so exact details ------- are still subject to change. After the O&M agreement with the vendor expires, the operations and maintenance work will be provided by a third party vendor, the turbine vendor under an extended or new O&M agreement, or internal staff of Geronimo or our strategic partner Enel Green Power. For wind projects, has a meteorological tower been installed, and when was the tower installed/how much data has been collected?: Two meteorological towers have been installed on the Apple Blossom Wind Project. In all, approximately 120 months worth of data have been collected at the Apple Blossom site. Analysis of the on-site data indicates an expected annual average wind speed across the site of 7.3 m/s at a hub height of 100 meters. Who has analyzed the data and what is that person's experience with respect to projects that have actually been financed?: Geronimo Wind Energy has worked with leading international renewable energy consultant GL-Garrad Hassan (GH) to analyze the wind resource of the project. GH has nearly three decades of experience analyzing renewable energy projects, from initial design to investment-grade due diligence. GH has acted as the technical advisor for more wind energy financial arrangements than any other company worldwide. Internal analysis of Energy's projects is performed by Michael Morris. He has analyzed approximately 2,000 MW of proposed wind capacity and over 600 MW of operating wind capacity. Of the proposed capacity, approximately 350 MW have received or are in the process of obtaining third-party financing. Mr. Morris holds Bachelor's and Master's degrees in Meteorology from the University of Oklahoma. Can the turbine manufacturer be financed through "traditional" tax equity and debt in the U.S.?: The majority of turbine manufacturers we are currently negotiating with are considered "Tier 1" vendors and can be financed through traditional tax equity and debt in the United States. The other turbine vendors under consideration can be financed through other means (i.e. self-financing or credit enhancement to entice traditional financing) and that is taken into account when selecting a turbine vendor. Provide a short summary of how the project views project finance and structure/ownership: We expect the project to be built, owned and operated by our strategic partner Enel Green Power North America "EGPNA," the second largest renewable energy generator in the world. Though EGPNA has employed tax partnership structures from time to time to monetize tax benefits for its wind project, EGPNA typically self-finances construction of its project as opposed to partnering with third party financiers and intends to do the same with the Apple Blossom Project although it reserves the right to consider other financing options. What are your ideal types of prospective institutions/partners?: We would like to partner with institutions that are willing and capable of entering into contracts of at least five years in duration for at least 25,000 megawatt hours (MWh) per year of renewable energy and affiliated renewable energy credits (RECs), equal to approximately 7 MW of nameplate capacity from this project. It is preferable if the partner has an investment grade credit rating. ------- About Geronimo Energy Geronimo Energy (Geronimo) is a utility-scale wind energy developer based in Edina, Minnesota. Geronimo has developed three operating wind farms in Minnesota. Geronimo has a development pipeline of wind farms in various stages of development throughout the Midwest with an aggregate nameplate capacity exceeding 4,000 megawatts of clean energy -roughly enough to power 1.5 million American homes. Geronimo also has a strategic partnership with Enel Green Power, the second largest renewable energy generator in the world. This partnership gives Geronimo all of the capabilities and financial strength necessary to bring its projects to fruition. More information is available on Geronimo is available at www.geronimoenergy.com. ------- |