Through the transaction, AES Wind Generation acquired a 51% stake in the pipeline, and will take ownership of up to 90% to 95%, pending completion of certain milestones by Reichert.
Of the total pipeline, 158MW of projects are expected to begin construction next year and will require approximately $80m of AES equity through the end of 2011. Completion of the entire pipeline will require approximately $175m of AES equity through the end of 2014.
Paul Hanrahan, president and CEO of AES Corporation, said: “Increasing our presence in Poland’s wind market falls in line with our strategy to pursue high-growth renewable energy markets. With 775MW in our development pipeline, we are establishing a strong foothold in one of Europe’s most attractive markets for wind generation.”
The Reichert investment builds on AES Wind Generation’s recent entry into the Polish wind market through its acquisition of 3E’s 422MW development pipeline. With this new investment, AES Wind Generation has a development pipeline totaling 775MW in Poland. Of the company’s global development pipeline of approximately 6,000MW, nearly one-third of those projects are located in Europe.
AES Wind Generation has 288MW of wind capacity in operation throughout Europe, and approximately 1,700MW in operation globally. An additional 50MW of wind generation capacity is projected to come on-line in China by the end of 2010.
