37 RES Americas closes $508 million in construction loans CONSTRUCTION BOP/EPC • Project Status • Siting • Equipment • Project Due Diligence • Services Minnesota Power, Duluth Port reach wind shipment milestone

Minnesota Power and the Duluth Port reached a That wind installation was constructed, and is owned supply chain milestone recently as the 15th ship by, NextEra Energy. Minnesota Power subsequently built bearing wind generation equipment destined for a the first three phases of its Bison Wind Energy Center Minnesota Power wind installation in adjacent to the initial located in Oliver County arrived at the harbor beneath the Aerial Lift Bridge. about a 90-minute drive east of Bismarck, North Dakota. The BBC cargo ship, Peter Roenna arrived in Dulu- Bison 4, a 205-MW addition to the wind farm, th in mid-July carrying over two dozen wind energy will utilize larger, more powerful Siemens wind tur- components after a voyage from Brande, Denmark, bines than those installed last year in phases 2 and where the equipment is manufactured by Siemens. 3 of the project. Because the generators are more Two other shiploads of Siemens wind equipment powerful, it will take only 64 turbines to produce bound for North Dakota arrived at the port in June; about the same amount of electricity produced by 70 two more are expected before the end of September. turbines in last year’s installation. Once operational, Since the port first started handing these project Bison 4 will push Minnesota Power past the 25 per- cargoes for Minnesota Power, a total of 15 shiploads cent renewable energy goal established by Minneso- of wind energy equipment — including these ta legislation 11 years ahead of schedule. cooling units and generators — have crossed the The first of the 64 new generators Atlantic Ocean, sailing through the Saint Lawrence was erected and installed earlier this month. A na- Seaway and across the Great Lakes into Duluth. celle was attached to the top of the first Bison 4 tow- The components were then loaded onto trucks for er July 2, and three days later, three wind turbine delivery to the Bison Wind Energy Center near New blades attached to a hub were “flown” to the tower Salem, North Dakota. top. Two large crawler cranes are positioned to con- The first shipments in 2006 included blades for a tinue Bison 4 assembly throughout the summer. 98-MW wind farm in Oliver County, N.D. from which “This latest shipment of wind components is Minnesota Power purchases all the electric generation. meaningful on several levels,” said Dave McMillan,

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senior vice president of external handling, secure storage and de- Port of Duluth to New Salem. affairs at ALLETE and execu- livery, particularly for shippers of “We appreciate the support, the tive vice president of Minnesota dimensional cargo,” noted Vanta trust placed in us by Minnesota Power. “It turns a spotlight on Coda, Port Authority executive Power,” added Jonathan Lamb, the global nature of sustainable director. “We are pleased to have LSW president. “We’ve forged a energy and the importance of been able to serve as a transport close working relationship over efficiently transporting goods hub for Minnesota Power’s wind these many years. We also know and services. This internation- projects since their launch, and how much moving their project al ship’s arrival represents the congratulate them on meeting the cargo through the Port of Duluth resourcefulness Minnesota Power 25 percent renewable energy goal also supports the greater business has shown in striving to reach more than a full decade ahead of community.” the renewable energy mandate.” the state’s 2025 goal.” Tower sections, manufactured McMillan also serves on the Saint This year, to make delivery in Manitowoc, Wis., using steel Lawrence Seaway Development even more efficient, the gen- produced with Minnesota iron Corporation’s Advisory Board. erators were separated at the ore, will be transported through The Clure Public Marine Ter- manufacturer from the back ends Hinckley and Brainerd on their minal — this Port’s only general (main body) of each nacelle, rath- way to Bison as construction cargo terminal — is owned by the er than being shipped together as continues. With a portion of the Duluth Seaway Port Authority and one large dimensional unit as in nacelle units now manufactured operated by Lake Superior Ware- previous years. Dividing the huge at a Siemens plant in Hutchinson, housing. “The strategic location power units into two parts makes Kan. and the turbine blades fab- of this port, the capacity of this them easier to transport by truck, ricated in Fort Madison, Ia. Bison facility, and the quality of LSW’s eliminating the requirement to 4 will have more American-made workforce has earned Duluth hire extra “flag crew” vehicles to components than the earlier Bison a reputation for efficient cargo accompany the trucks from the phases. 14799 WOC US Advert_14799 WOC US Advert 21/07/2014 09:54 Page 1

Wind Operator Gold Sponsors: Congress

North America Silver Sponsors: Conference Sponsors: 16-17 September 2014, InterContinental Magnificent Mile, Chicago, USA Minimize costs, slash downtime, boost reliability and maximize productivity Confirmed Speakers Include:

Matthew Burt, Scott Bramlett, Jason Eddy, Steve Gilbert, Senior Vice President Operations, Regional Safety Specialist, Vice President Midwest Region, UVIG O&M Users Group RES Americas EDF Renewable Services Broadwind Energy Chair and Manager, Energy Projects Development, Mike Peck, Rob Edinger, Dr. Ashley Crowther, Alaska Village Electric Cooperative Director, Asset Management, Corporate O&M Director of the Americas, VP Engineering, Aaron Greco, EDP Renewables North America Goldwind Service Company Romax Technology Mechanical Engineer, Tribology Section, Emil Moroz, Ryan McGraw, Dr. Jim McCaa, Argonne National Laboratory Asset Strategist, Head of Asset Management, Director of Advanced Applications, AES Orion Renewable Energy Group Dan Shreve, Vaisala Partner, Troy Ryan, David Korim, Evan Osler, MAKE Consulting Eastern Regional Manager, Team Leader Diagnostics Engineering, Business Development Manager, Brian Sturtecky, Infigen Energy General Electric Renewable NRG Systems Area Director, Judah Moseson, Rick Kroon, OSHA Taber Allison, Director of O&M Services, Vice President Quality Safety and Director of Research and Evaluation, Walter Hornaday, Infigen Energy Environment, American Wind Wildlife Institute President, Grayling Vander Velde, Wind Systems Cielo Wind Power Principal Safety Specialist, Lauge Nielsen, John W. Zack, Principal, Director of Forecasting, Dave Magill, Wind Power Generation, Director Wind Farm Operations, Senior Vice President, NextEra Energy GDF Suez AWS Truepower LLC Competitive Power Ventures Gary Lee, Paul Haberlein, Amy Grace, Justin Johnson, Health and Safety Manager, Director, Operations Engineering, North American Wind Analyst, Director of Performance Management, EDP Renewables Pattern Energy Bloomberg New Energy Finance EDP Renewables

For more information or to book your delegate place, please visit www.windoperatorcongress.com or email [email protected]. Please quote VIP code WSAD

34 AUGUST | 2014 EDF-RE reaches commercial operation HEADLINES on Spinning Spur II in Texas Panhandle EDF EN Canada and Enbridge dedicate Blackspring Ridge Wind Project EDF EN Canada Inc., and Enbridge Inc., recently dedicated the 300 MW Blackspring Ridge Wind Project. Located in Vulcan County, Alberta, the project is the largest investment in wind energy in Western Canada. EDF EN Canada and Enbridge officials joined Alberta Energy Minister Diana McQueen, Derrick Annable, Reeve of Vulcan County, Kym Nichols, Mayor of Carmangay, and more than 100 other invited guests to mark the occasion. Construction of the 166 turbine project commenced in May 2013 and reached commercial operation twelve months later in May 2014. Mortenson Canada served as the construction contractor. Pattern receives EAC for British Columbia project Reaching a key milestone in the development process, Pattern Energy Group LP announced it has received an Environmental Assessment Certificate for its Meikle Wind project, a 185 MW wind power project located in British Columbia. EDF Renewable Energy recent- 40 miles west of Amarillo in June “This is Pattern Development’s first ly announced that the 161 MW 2013. The power is sold pursuant project in British Columbia, expanding Spinning Spur II Wind Project in to an 11-year purchase agreement. the Company’s presence to a third Texas has reached commercial The project is one of the first to province in Canada,” said Mike Gar- operation. The company further feed into the new CREZ (Compet- land, CEO of Pattern Development. “We announced the close of structured itive Renewable Energy Zones) have now received the major environ- equity financing from GE Energy transmission infrastructure which mental approval for this project, which Financial Services and MUFG enables access to the strong renew- was the last big milestone before Union Bank, N.A. The completion able resources of West Texas and arranging construction financing.” of construction and COD mile- the Texas Panhandle and delivery The Meikle Wind project, which has stone allows the closing of the sale of the wind energy resource to the a 25-year power purchase agreement of 50 percent of EDF Renewable high electricity demand areas in with BC Hydro, is expected to com- Energy’s equity interest in the the state. Texas leads the country mence commercial operation in late project to UBS International Infra- in installed wind capacity with 2016. structure Fund. Financial details 12,300 megawatts, enough clean Meikle Wind is one of the seven proj- were not disclosed. electricity to power 3.3 million av- ects on which Pattern Energy holds the Spinning Spur II commenced erage homes in the United States. right of first offer rights to purchase. construction of 87 GE 1.85-mega- Mortenson Construction’s Re- watt, 87-meter rotor wind turbines newable Energy Groups provided

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engineering, procurement, and construction of all first projects to connect to the CREZ,” (Competitive access roads, foundations, wind turbine erection, Renewable Energy Zone) said Tim Maag, vice pres- collection system, operations and maintenance ident and general manager of Mortenson Construc- building and the installation of MET towers for the tion’s Wind Energy group. Spinning Spur II project. Approximately 200 jobs Spinning Spur II will generate enough electricity were created throughout the course of construction to power approximately 44,000 homes — according which began in June 2013. to US Energy Environmental Protection Agency “The announcement today exemplifies EDF Re- methodology — avoiding approximately 332,000 newable Energy’s strategy to develop renewable en- metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions per year, ergy projects with strong local community support, the equivalent of the annual emissions from approx- and first tier equipment suppliers and contractors, imately 70,000 passenger vehicles. and then invite the investment from longstanding EDF Renewable Services will provide long-term financial partners,” commented Tristan Grimbert, operations and maintenance for the facility, balance President and CEO of EDF Renewable Energy. “EDF of plant, project oversight, and 24/7 remote moni- RE will retain substantial ownership in the facility toring from its NERC compliant Operations Control and bring our expertise in operations and mainte- Center (OCC). nance through EDF Renewable Services to opti- The OCC provides an efficient, reliable, and se- mize long-term investment profitability.” With the cure operating platform, while benefiting from the Spinning Spur II project in operation, the Group’s centralization of SCADA (Supervisory Control and installed capacity since entering the Texas market in Data Acquisition) functions and consolidation of 2012 reaches 472 MW with another 700 MW in late- multiple vendor SCADA environments to provide a stage development. common operating view. EDF Renewable Services is “We’re very pleased to have partnered with EDF an industry leader, providing O&M services to more Renewable Energy on our 24th successful project than 7.4 gigawatts of renewable energy projects together and to have been part of building one of the across North America.

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36 AUGUST | 2014 RES Americas closes $508 million in construction loans Financing set for two projects in North Dakota and Minnesota totaling 350 MW

RES Americas, has reached Valley and Border Winds projects, surrounding regions,” said Alex- financial close of a $222 million which will provide clean and ander von Dobschütz, Global Head construction loan for the 150 MW competitively priced power to of Financial Institutions & Struc- Border Winds Project in Rolette Minnesota, North Dakota and the tured Finance at BayernLB. County, North Dakota, and a $286 million construction loan for the 200 MW Pleasant Valley Wind Project in Mower and Dodge Counties, Minnesota. Bayerische Landesbank, New York Branch (BayernLB) and Société Générale acted as the Joint Lead Arrangers, Coordi- nating Lead Arrangers and Joint Bookrunners for both transac- tions. Additionally, Landesbank Hessen-Thüringen Girozentrale, New York Branch, MUFG Union Bank, N.A. and CoBank, ACB acted as Mandated Lead Arrang- ers for both deals. The Admin- istrative Agent and Collateral Agent for Border Winds is Société Générale and for Pleasant Valley is BayernLB. “We appreciate the dedication, creativity and financial strength that BayernLB, Société Générale, and the rest of the bank groups have brought to these transac- tions,” said Seth McIntosh, Vice President of RES Americas. “Having these global institutions on the Border Winds and Pleasant Valley teams is a key to the suc- cess of these projects.” RES Americas is the developer and engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) contrac- tor of Border Winds and Pleasant Valley projects which will utilize 175 V100-2.0 MW Vestas turbines. Upon completion, RES Americas will transfer the proj- ects to Xcel Energy which will own and operate them. “We are proud to support RES Americas and Vestas, important BayernLB partners, by financing the construction of the Pleasant

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