V SEPA GREEN POWER PARTNERSHIP9 Aligning Green Power Partners with New Renewable Energy Projects Pilot Project Summary Project Name: Walnut Ridge Wind Farm Developer Name: Geronimo Energy Contact: Drew Terwilliger, drewffigeronimoenergy.com Renewable Energy Type: Wind Total Planned Megawatt Size: Up to 210 MW Project Location: Bureau County, IL Is the project permitted?: Yes, major permits have been granted other than permits normally obtained by the construction contractor. The Bureau County Conditional Use Permit was issued in 2009 and other major permits were issued in 2010 and 2012. If no, what is the permit status?: Yes, major permits have been granted and the project has a commercial operation date of 12/31/2014. What is the status of the project's site?: The Walnut Ridge Wind Power Project is located approximately 90 miles west of Chicago, 60 miles north of Peoria and 60 miles east of Davenport, IA in northern Bureau County, IL. The Walnut Ridge Project boundary encompasses approximately 13,000 acres and has 125 turbine locations fully permitted within the project's boundary. ------- Have land leases been filed with the county?: Yes, Walnut Ridge has entered into Wind Energy Lease and Easement Agreements with approximately eighty landowners. Walnut Ridge has also executed all necessary Non-Disturbance Agreements and Utility Crossing Agreements, all of which are of record 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): Walnut Ridge will interconnect to a new 345/138kV substation tapping into Commonwealth Edison's Nelson - Electric Junction 345kV line in Bureau County. Walnut Ridge, PJM, and Commonwealth Edison have executed an Interconnection Service Agreement. Commonwealth Edison will construct the 345kV line tap and a 3-breaker 345kV switchyard on land to be furnished by Walnut Ridge. Walnut Ridge is responsible for the other interconnection facilities. No network upgrades are necessary and the expected in-service date is June, 2014. 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 PJM Independent System Operator (PJM-ISO) requires generators to perform a Feasibility Study and System Impact study before executing an Interconnection Agreement. The Feasibility Study, System Impact Study and Interconnection Agreement have been completed for the Walnut Ridge Wind Farm. No network upgrades were necessary. Environmental Impact Statement status: Walnut Ridge submitted an Agency Action Report to the Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) to determine if any state protected resources may potentially be impacted by the Project. The IDNR identified 4 species that could potentially be impacted adversely and set forth a set of guidelines to be followed to mitigate any potential adverse impacts on these species. Walnut Ridge has agreed to follow each of the IDNR's guidelines. In addition, Walnut Ridge has completed a wetland delineation of the entire project area and has been approved for a Nationwide Permit status by the Army Corps of Engineers. Though not required to Walnut Ridge has also undertaken a number of other environmental and archaeological studies, including a Phase I Avian Assessment, a Phase I Environmental Assessment and a Phase I Archeological Assessment. Also, Walnut Ridge conducted a precautionary habitat assessment for the Ornate Box Turtle and elected to apply for and was granted an incidental take authorization for this species by the IDNR. However, none of these assessments or studies has identified any particular issues of concern from an environmental perspective. 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?: Six meteorological towers have been installed at the Walnut Ridge project. Two have collected data continuously dating back to February 2007, the others have collected data continuously dating back to October 2008. In all, approximately 30 total tower-years of wind data are available. Who has analyzed the data and what is that person's experience with respect to projects that have actually been financed?: Geronimo Energy has worked with leading international renewable energy consultant AWS Truepower (AWST) to analyze the wind resources of the project. With nearly three decades of experience in wind and solar development, AWST has evaluated over 60,000 MW of projects in over 80 countries. Internal analysis of Geronimo 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 Walnut Ridge 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 and solar energy developer based in Minneapolis, 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. ------- |