BlackRock has sold its controlling interest in the 42.5MW Elk and 37.5MW Bethel Hawkeye operating wind energy facilities
Image: Greenbacker has acquired 80MW Iowa wind projects from BlackRock. Photo: courtesy of InspiredImages/Pixabay.
Greenbacker Renewable Energy has acquired 80MW Iowa wind projects from BlackRock Real Assets’ Global Renewable Power platform for an undisclosed price.
BlackRock has sold its controlling interest in the 42.5MW Elk and 37.5MW Bethel Hawkeye operating wind energy facilities.
The onshore wind projects were acquired by a fund managed by BlackRock’s Global Renewable Power team in 2015. The facilities benefit from stable cash flows through a long-term offtake contract with Central Iowa Power Cooperative.
The cooperative energy provider serves 300,000 residents and over 13,000 industrial and commercial accounts in Iowa.
Greenbacker CEO Charles Wheeler said: “Greenbacker is thrilled to acquire the Elk and Hawkeye projects in Iowa. Combined with our earlier acquisition of the Community Wind South project in Minnesota, we are adding 110MWs of high-quality wind assets with a strong operational track record and long-dated investment-grade offtake contracts that will provide attractive and stable cash flows to our investors for many years to come.”
For the transaction, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom is the legal advisor for BlackRock while Stoel Rives is the legal advisor to Greenbacker.
The transaction marks another sale for the GRP platform and is its second bilateral transaction with Greenbacker in 2019.
BlackRock global head of renewable power David Giordano said: “As one of the early movers in the renewables investment sector, BlackRock is well positioned to source attractive projects that allow our clients to invest capital in the transition towards low carbon energy.
“The growing demand for clean renewable power, along with the need to replace aging power generation infrastructure in developed markets, presents significant opportunities for investors.”
Other disinvestments of BlackRock
In July, BlackRock had also sold its controlling interest in Community Wind South, a 30.75MW community-based operating wind project in Minnesota.
Prior to that in February, the company had sold a portfolio of four operating solar projects to Ullico in Ontario, Canada.