APEX sells energy portfolio to Northleaf Capital Partners

Apex Clean Energy (APEX) has announced the sale of a majority ownership stake in a 217 MW renewable energy portfolio to Northleaf Capital Partners, an independent global private markets manager, with more than US$7 billion in infrastructure and private equity commitments under management.

The portfolio consists of the 50.4 MW Cotton Plains Wind and 151.2 MW Old Settler Wind facilities in Floyd County, Texas (USA); and the 15.4 MW Phantom Solar facility currently under construction on-site at U.S. Army Garrison Fort Hood in Killeen, Texas. Apex will provide asset management services for all three facilities.

In a deal announced in January,  Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) Energy, in coordination with the U.S. Army Office of Energy Initiatives (OEI) and Fort Hood, signed a Renewable Energy Supply Agreement (RESA) with Apex for 65.8 MW of electricity from from Cotton Plains Wind and Phantom Solar to supply energy to Fort Hood. The Army is expected to pay about $168 million less than what it would pay for power from the traditional electricity grid over the course of the 28-year agreement.

Additionlly, Apex and Northleaf arranged debt financing and tax equity commitments for the projects. CohnReznick Capital Markets served as financial adviser to Apex.

Fagen, Inc., is serving as the balance-of-plant (BoP) contractor on the wind projects, and Phoenix Solar is leading construction of the solar component. Once complete, the wind projects will comprise a combined 84 GE 2.4 MW turbines.

Jared Waldron, director at Northleaf, said:

“Direct investments in fully contracted wind and solar assets are on strategy for Northleaf’s program, as they offer predictable long-term cash flows and returns for our investors. The partnership with Apex is very strategic to us, given its track record as a leading renewable energy company. We look forward to maintaining a productive and long-term relationship with Apex.”

Mark Goodwin, president of Apex, added:

“Apex is proud to help Fort Hood, the largest active-duty armored post in the United States, increase its energy resiliency and help accelerate our nation’s overall shift to clean energy,” “The project achieves a number of ‘firsts,’ with on-site solar and off-site wind creating a hybrid solution to provide more than 50% of the annual load at Fort Hood, and at the same time saving taxpayers an estimated $168 million in direct energy costs over the life of the project.”