Energy group completes financing for wind-powered electric plant near Ely
Pattern Energy Group said today that it has completed financing of its Spring Valley Wind project 30 miles east of Ely.
Three lenders have agreed to finance the 150-megawatt, wind-powered electric plant. Siemens Financial Services, a financing subsidiary of wind-turbine maker Siemens AG, has joined Credit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank and Union Bank to fund the project. The financing is a secured construction loan that converts into an 18-year term loan. The companies didn't disclose the loan amount.
Siemens will also supply the project's 66 wind turbines.
The company said it had a groundbreaking ceremony today.
Spring Valley Wind is the subject of a lawsuit filed in January by three Native American tribes and the Western Watersheds Project and Center for Biological Diversity. The groups claim the Bureau of Land Management, which owns Spring Valley Wind's 8,565-acre site, fast-tracked the project without preparing an environmental impact statement. They argue Spring Valley Wind could harm 1 million Brazilian free-tailed bats during fall migration.
Pattern officials say Spring Valley will have radar technology that shuts down turbines when birds are nearby.
In March, the U.S. District Court for Nevada denied a request for an injunction to stop construction. The case is now with the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.
Pattern said it expects to complete Spring Valley Wind within 12 months.
Local power utility NV Energy has signed a 20-year power-purchase agreement to buy the project's electricity.
Contact reporter Jennifer Robison at jrobison@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-4512.
