SAN DIEGO, April 23, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Sempra U.S.
Gas & Power today announced it has acquired the Black Oak Getty
wind project in Minnesota from
Geronimo Energy, LLC, a utility-scale wind and solar energy
developer. When the 78-megawatt (MW) Black Oak Getty is completed,
Sempra U.S. Gas & Power, along with its affiliates and
joint-venture partners, will have wind facilities in seven states
totaling more than 1,200 MW of generating capacity.
Located in Stearns County,
Minn., the Black Oak Getty wind farm will generate enough
renewable power for approximately 30,000 Minnesota homes. The project is expected to
move into full construction in spring 2016.
"We are pleased to have the opportunity to diversify and expand
our renewables portfolio through the acquisition, development and
operation of the Black Oak Getty wind project," said Patricia K. Wagner, president and CEO of Sempra
U.S. Gas & Power. "We look forward to providing Minnesota with a stable supply of clean,
renewable energy and becoming a long-term partner with the local
community through the development and operation of this
project."
The project is expected to employ about 250 workers at peak
construction and be in commercial operation by late 2016. The
entire power output from the wind farm has been sold to Minnesota
Municipal Power Agency (MMPA) under a 20-year contract.
"We look forward to working with Sempra U.S. Gas & Power as
a long term partner," said Derick O.
Dahlen, executive director for Minnesota Municipal Power
Agency. "MMPA's purchase from this wind project will help MMPA meet
its renewable energy obligation of 25 percent in 2025."
"Geronimo is pleased to partner with a world-class company like
Sempra U.S. Gas & Power to bring the Black Oak Getty wind farm
into operation," said Blake Nixon,
president of Geronimo Energy. "As a result of this transaction, the
Black Oak Getty wind farm will bring positive economic impact to
the local area and stable, low cost energy to the customers of
Minnesota Municipal Power Agency."
Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
About Sempra U.S. Gas & Power
Sempra U.S. Gas
& Power, LLC is a leading developer of renewable energy and
natural gas solutions with power plants that generate enough
electricity for nearly 600,000 homes and businesses. Sempra U.S.
Gas & Power companies also operate natural gas storage
facilities, pipelines and distribution utilities. The company is a
subsidiary of Sempra Energy (NYSE: SRE), a Fortune 500 energy
services holding company with 2014 revenues of approximately
$11 billion. The Sempra Energy
companies' 17,000 employees serve more than 32 million consumers
worldwide. For more information, visit
www.SempraUSGP.com.
About Geronimo Energy
Geronimo Energy is a
utility-scale renewable energy development company headquartered in
Edina, Minnesota. Geronimo has
developed multiple operating wind farms and solar projects
throughout the Midwestern United States. Together with its various
project partners, Geronimo is poised to build wind projects with an
aggregate nameplate capacity of over 1,000 MW and approximately 200
MW of solar projects throughout the Midwest by the end of 2016.
Geronimo has a multi-gigawatt development pipeline of wind and
solar projects in various stages of development throughout
the United States and provides
custom renewable energy development solutions for utilities and
corporations looking to harness renewable energy for business
growth. For more information about Geronimo Energy, visit
www.geronimoenergy.com.
This press release contains statements that are not
historical fact and constitute forward-looking statements within
the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of
1995. These statements can be identified by words like
"believes," "expects," "anticipates," "plans," "estimates,"
"projects," "forecasts," "contemplates," "intends," "depends,"
"should," "could," "would," "will," "confident," "may,"
"potential," "target," "pursue," "goals," "outlook," "maintain" or
similar expressions, or discussions of guidance, strategies, plans,
goals, opportunities, projections, initiatives, objectives or
intentions. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of
performance. They involve risks, uncertainties and
assumptions. Future results may differ materially from those
expressed in the forward-looking statements. Factors among
others that could cause our actual results and future actions to
differ materially from those described in our forward-looking
statements include:: local, regional, national and international
economic, competitive, political, legislative and regulatory
conditions and developments; actions and the timing of actions,
including issuances of permits to construct and licenses for
operation, by the California Public Utilities Commission,
California State Legislature, U.S. Department of Energy, Federal
Energy Regulatory Commission, Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Atomic
Safety and Licensing Board, California Energy Commission, U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency, California Air Resources Board,
and other regulatory, governmental and environmental bodies in
the United States and other
countries in which we operate; the timing and success of business
development efforts and construction, maintenance and capital
projects, including risks in obtaining, maintaining or extending
permits, licenses, certificates and other authorizations on a
timely basis and risks in obtaining adequate and competitive
financing for such projects; energy markets, including the timing
and extent of changes and volatility in commodity prices, and the
impact of any protracted reduction in oil prices from historical
averages; the impact on the value of our natural gas storage assets
from low natural gas prices, low volatility of natural gas prices
and the inability to procure favorable long-term contracts for
natural gas storage services; delays in the timing of costs
incurred and the timing of the regulatory agency authorization to
recover such costs in rates from customers; capital markets
conditions, including the availability of credit and the liquidity
of our investments; inflation, interest and currency exchange
rates; the impact of benchmark interest rates, generally Moody's
A-rated utility bond yields, on our California Utilities' cost of
capital; the availability of electric power, natural gas and
liquefied natural gas, and natural gas pipeline and storage
capacity, including disruptions caused by failures in the North
American transmission grid, pipeline explosions and equipment
failures and the decommissioning of San Onofre Nuclear Generating
Station; cybersecurity threats to the energy grid, natural gas
storage and pipeline infrastructure, the information and systems
used to operate our businesses and the confidentiality of our
proprietary information and the personal information of our
customers, terrorist attacks that threaten system operations and
critical infrastructure, and wars; the ability to win competitively
bid infrastructure projects against a number of strong competitors
willing to aggressively bid for these projects; weather conditions,
conservation efforts, natural disasters, catastrophic accidents,
and other events that may disrupt our operations, damage our
facilities and systems, and subject us to third-party liability for
property damage or personal injuries; risks that our partners or
counterparties will be unable or unwilling to fulfill their
contractual commitments; risks posed by decisions and actions of
third parties who control the operations of investments in which we
do not have a controlling interest; risks inherent with nuclear
power facilities and radioactive materials storage, including the
catastrophic release of such materials, the disallowance of the
recovery of the investment in, or operating costs of, the nuclear
facility due to an extended outage and facility closure, and
increased regulatory oversight; business, regulatory, environmental
and legal decisions and requirements; expropriation of assets by
foreign governments and title and other property disputes; the
impact on reliability of San Diego Gas & Electric Company's
(SDG&E) electric transmission and distribution system due to
increased amount and variability of power supply from renewable
energy sources; the impact on competitive customer rates of the
growth in distributed and local power generation and the
corresponding decrease in demand for power delivered through
SDG&E's electric transmission and distribution system; the
inability or determination not to enter into long-term supply and
sales agreements or long-term firm capacity agreements due to
insufficient market interest, unattractive pricing or other
factors; the resolution of litigation; and other uncertainties, all
of which are difficult to predict and many of which are beyond our
control. These risks and uncertainties are further discussed
in the reports that Sempra Energy has filed with the Securities and
Exchange Commission. These reports are available through the EDGAR
system free-of-charge on the SEC's website, www.sec.gov, and on the
company's website at www.sempra.com. Investors should
not rely unduly on any forward-looking statements. These
forward-looking statements speak only as of the date hereof, and
the company undertakes no obligation to update or revise these
forecasts or projections or other forward-looking statements,
whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
Sempra International, LLC, and Sempra U.S. Gas & Power, LLC,
are not the same companies as the California utilities, San Diego Gas &
Electric (SDG&E) or Southern California Gas Company (SoCalGas),
and Sempra International, LLC, and Sempra U.S. Gas & Power,
LLC, are not regulated by the California Public Utilities
Commission. Sempra International's underlying entities include
Sempra Mexico and Sempra South American Utilities. Sempra U.S. Gas
& Power's underlying entities include Sempra Renewables and
Sempra Natural Gas.
Media
Contact:
|
Steve
Schooff
Sempra U.S. Gas &
Power
(619)
696-2066
www.semprausgp.com
|
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Financial
Contact:
|
Kendall Helm
Sempra Energy
(877) 696-2461
Investor@Sempra.com
|
|
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SOURCE Sempra U.S. Gas & Power