|GREEN ' POWER H PARTNERSHIP* RE-Powering America's Land Project Matching: Facilitating New Renewable Energy Projects Project Proposal Submittal Form The EPA Green Power Partnership's (GPP's) Project Matching Initiative works to connect stakeholders with new, not-yet-built renewable energy projects that may align with their energy, environmental, and financial objectives. The initiative's goal is to spur the development of new renewable generation by facilitating the signing of long-term green power contracts between end-users and project developers, thereby providing a guaranteed stream of revenue that developers can use to secure project financing. The GPP, in collaboration with EPA's RE-Powering America's Land Initiative, will host a project matching webinar on Wednesday, June 24, 2015. Project developers are invited to submit project proposals to GPP for possible inclusion in the webinar. This form includes all anticipated criteria that EPA will use to select projects for the webinar. All projects submitted for review that meet minimum requirements for data completeness and basic eligibility will be posted on the GPP website. A renewable energy project's inclusion in this initiative does not constitute endorsement or recommendation by EPA. Project proposals are due by June 5, 2015 and must be submitted electronically to James Critchfield, critchfield.james@epa.gov. Contact Information Brianne Marinucci brianne.marinucciffiownenergy.com 718-801-8382 Project Summary Project name: SummitWind Farm, LLC Developer name: OwnEnergy, Inc. and SummitWind, LLC, OwnEnergy's Local Partner Note: in all of OwnEnergy's eight successful wind farm developments to date and the 25+ that are currently in the Company's pipeline, OwnEnergy teams up with leading members of local communities to jointly develop the wind farm, tailor the project for the wants and needs of the local community, and profit from its ultimate success. Renewable energy type: Wind Project city/state: Grant County, South Dakota Project geographic coordinates (To find, use: www.latlong.net/): Latitude: 45.259 Longitude: -97.069 ------- Total planned megawatt (MW DC) size: 90 MW Are there phases? If so, how many and in what size traunches? No, there are no additional phases planned for this project. What is the expected annual output of the completed project (MWh)? The expected net annual output is approximately 380,000 MWh/yr Expected date of construction commencement: Q1 2016 Expected date of commercial operation: Q4 2016 What is the largest development hurdle and how is it anticipated to be overcome? A financeable revenue contract (Power Purchase Agreement or equivalent) is the largest hurdle to be overcome on the project. The SummitWind Farm is participating in public and private solicitations from traditional utilities and commercial & industrial clients, respectively, and is pursuing multiple angles of marketing the project to potential off-takers. Can you provide examples of similar projects you have developed? Yes - OwnEnergy developed the Alexander Wind Farm in Rush, KS. OwnEnergy contracted the project to Kansas City Board of Public Utilities and Yahoo! Inc. through long term PPA's. The project is currently under construction with anticipated COD later in 2015. In addition, OwnEnergy has successfully developed seven other wind farms across the U.S. totaling 280 MW. Site Readiness Has the project received all necessary federal, state, and local permits to proceed with construction and operation? If not, please outline the key permits required to proceed with project construction/operation and describe the steps you have taken in order to evaluate and address permitting risk for this project. The project is preparing an Environmental Assessment (EA) report and seeking a Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) from WAPA. The permitting process was initiated in November 2013 and all field surveys and permitting reports have been completed. WAPA is currently reviewing the final draft of the EA and awaiting concurrence from the USFWS on Section 7 consultation. It is anticipated that the FONSI can be obtained in July 2015. Remaining permits required purely for the construction of the project issued by the South Dakota Department of Transportation (Overweight/Oversize, Road Approach, Utility Crossing ------- and Aeronautical Hazard Permits) and South Dakota Department of Environment and Natural Resources (NPDES, General Construction Storm Water and Spill Prevention Control and Countermeasures Plan). These permits will be pursued by the EPC contractor selected by SummitWind Farm and they are anticipated to be procured Q1 2016. Have you secured long-term site control? If so, please describe the nature of the agreement (lease, ownership, etc.)? 100% of the land necessary for construction and operation of the project have been secured under financeable long-term surface lease agreements with private landowners in the Farmington Township of Grant County, South Dakota. Have land leases been filed with the county? Yes, a memorandum of lease has been filed for every secured agreement. Does the project require either an Environmental Impact Statement or Environmental Assessment? If so, what is the status? Yes, the project requires an Environmental Assessment and subsequent Finding of No Significant Impact. It is anticipated that the FONSI will be obtained in July 2015. Is this project sited on a current or formerly contaminated land, landfill or mine site?1 If so, has the site addressed the related environmental issues? The project is not located on contaminated land, landfill or mine site. Under the disclosure provisions of the lease agreements that SummitWind Farm LLC holds with the individual surface estate owners, we are not aware of any environmental issues. A Phase I ESA will be completed during Q3 2015. Interconnection What is the status of interconnection, and have system impact and facility studies been completed? (Distribution or transmission level projects are both eligible) The Facilities Study was completed by WAPA in March 2015. The individual SummitWind Farm Interconnection Request is GI-1301. The Draft Large Generator Interconnection Agreement is currently under review by SummitWind Farm. When do you expect the interconnection study process will be complete? We anticipate executing the LGIA in July 2015. 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? WAPA's interconnection study process, as identified within the Open Access Transmission Tariff, studies the project's impact on the local and regional grid. All costs for interconnecting the project to WAPA's infrastructure have been factored into the financial model for the SummitWind Farm. WAPA will be joining SPP in October 2015 as part of the integration of the 1 Examples of such properties could include brownfields, municipal solid waste landfills, abandoned mine lands, and Superfund sites, among others subject to state or federal authorities or cleanup programs. ------- Integrated Transmission system co-owned by WAPA, Basin Electric Power Cooperative and Heartland Consumers Power District into the SPP footprint. Additionally, a Congestion and Curtailment analysis performed by DNV-GL shows the project has a favorable LMP position with a positive basis to the SPP North Hub. Additional reinforcements planned regionally and within MISO's infrastructure have reduced risks of curtailment to less than 1% in 2016 and 0% in 2018 and beyond. This project is well positioned and highly competitive in WAPA's UGPR and the Southwest Power Pool. Operation & Financing Is any element of the project - technology or systems - experimental or pilot-phase or proven technology? The technology to be employed is proven by a reputable and stable manufacturer - Siemens. These turbines will be manufactured in the United States. The project will employ 38 SWT-2.3- 108 MW wind turbine generators. What is the long- and short-term plan for operating and maintaining the project? The project will be managed by reputable providers for balance of plant and turbine related operations and maintenance under industry standard best practices. The third party engineering firm DNV-GL has helped build the planned and unplanned maintenance model for the SummitWind Farm utilizing their vast resources of operational data. For wind projects, has a meteorological tower been installed? If yes, when was the tower installed and how much data has been collected? The project has over five years of financeable data sourced from two meteorological towers erected within the project footprint. Provide a short summary of how you view project finance and structure/ownership taking shape for this project: The project will be financed with a mix of tax equity and sponsor equity. Once a revenue contract is secured, SummitWind Farm will be able to solicit a tax equity commitment that will assist in sourcing a sponsor equity. OwnEnergy will look to retain a long-term minority ownership interest in the project company and perform construction management and asset management services on an as needed basis - a structure we employed on our Windthorst-2 Wind Farm in Texas that went into service October 2014. Partners In what ways can organizations participate in the project? (Check all that Apply) ~ X Power purchase agreement for bundled power and RECs ~ X Financial hedge or contract for differences ------- ~ Long term REC offtake ~ Financial investment / ownership stake ~ Other, please specify: What are some of the characteristics of your ideal power purchaser, investor, or other partner? OwnEnergy seeks offtake partners interested in securing long term contracts for clean, economic and domestic wind power generated by wind farms developed by OwnEnergy and local energy entrepreneurs across the country. OwnEnergy has a range of expertise to assist corporate purchasers in navigating the process to purchase wind power directly. Yahoo is a terrific example of an ideal power purchaser. They are a large company with significant energy usage within the Southwest Power Pool. They were looking to capture significant value through the wind purchase when compared with future costs of energy and REC's during the contract life. Yahoo and its stakeholders also value sustainability and a community-centric approach to development. Yahoo had a dedicated team for this initiative and a clear internal process for getting it across the finish line. What marketing opportunities exist at the project? The project is looking at opportunities with both traditional utility buyers and corporate buyers who have an interest in SPP. ------- |