TORONTO, July 19, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Northland Power Inc. ("Northland") (TSX:NPI) announced today that the Deutsche Bucht Mono Bucket pilot demonstrator ("Demo") project has reached financial close. All required funds for the Demo project have been contributed by Northland and committed by the project lenders.
In May, the Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency of Germany (BSH) granted the Deutsche Bucht offshore wind project the permit required to erect two additional pilot wind turbines using Mono Bucket foundations. Deutsche Bucht will be the first offshore wind farm worldwide to test this new type of foundation structure under commercial operating conditions. As previously announced, the two turbines will contribute an additional 17 MW of capacity to the base 252 MW project for a total of 269 MW and bringing the total project cost to approximately €1.4 billion (CAD $2.0 billion) - up from €1.3 billion. Northland's corporate investment has increased from approximately $400 million to approximately $430 million, funded by cash on hand. The balance of the Demo project cost will be funded with non-recourse project finance debt and pre-completion revenues. Production from the additional 17 MW Demo project will earn the same fixed feed-in tariff subsidy for approximately 13 years under the German Renewable Energy Act ("EEG") as the base project, equating to approximately €184/MWh for 8 years and €149/MWh for the remainder. The Demo project is expected to be accretive to the base project since it will share the base project's infrastructure. Inclusive of the additional 17 MW from the Demo project, Northland owns 100% of the 269 MW offshore wind farm, which will be located in the German North Sea.
John Brace, CEO of Northland Power, said: "Today's announcement represents yet another first for Northland Power. The addition of the Demo turbines is not only innovative and accretive to the base project, but we are able to undertake this initiative with little additional risk since they will be integrated into the overall construction project. The innovative new mono bucket design could be of significant benefit to some of Northland's future offshore wind farms. The learnings from this pilot could allow Northland to construct faster and lower costs for certain site conditions."
The Deutsche Bucht project is currently under construction, with completion anticipated in the second half of 2019.
ABOUT NORTHLAND
Northland is an independent power producer founded in 1987, and publicly traded since 1997. Northland develops, builds, owns and operates facilities that produce 'clean' (natural gas) and 'green' (wind, solar, and hydro) energy, providing sustainable long-term value to shareholders, stakeholders, and host communities.
The Company owns or has an economic interest in 2,458 MW (net 2,029 MW) of operating generating capacity and 269 MW of generating capacity under construction - the Deutsche Bucht offshore project in the North Sea, in addition to its 60% equity stake in the 1,044 MW Hai Long projects that hold grid allocation rights.
Northland's common shares, Series 1, Series 2 and Series 3 preferred shares and Series B and Series C convertible debentures trade on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbols NPI, NPI.PR.A, NPI.PR.B, NPI.PR.C, NPI.DB.B, and NPI.DB.C, respectively.
FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS
This release contains certain forward-looking statements which are provided for the purpose of presenting information about management's current expectations and plans. Readers are cautioned that such statements may not be appropriate for other purposes. Forward-looking statements include statements that are predictive in nature, depend upon or refer to future events or conditions, or include words such as "expects," "anticipates," "plans," "believes," "estimates," "intends," "targets," "projects," "forecasts" or negative versions thereof and other similar expressions, or future or conditional verbs such as "may," "will," "should," "would" and "could." These statements may include, without limitation, statements regarding future adjusted EBITDA, free cash flows, dividend payment and dividend payout ratios, the construction, completion, attainment of commercial operations, cost and output of development projects, litigation claims, plans for raising capital, and the operations, business, financial condition, priorities, ongoing objectives, strategies and outlook of Northland and its subsidiaries. These statements are based upon certain material factors or assumptions that were applied in developing the forward-looking statements, including the design specifications of development projects, the provisions of contracts to which Northland or a subsidiary is a party, management's current plans, its perception of historical trends, current conditions and expected future developments, as well as other factors that are believed to be appropriate in the circumstances. Although these forward-looking statements are based upon management's current reasonable expectations and assumptions, they are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties. Some of the factors that could cause results or events to differ from current expectations include, but are not limited to, construction risks, counterparty risks, operational risks, foreign exchange rates, regulatory risks, maritime risks for construction and operation, and the variability of revenues from generating facilities powered by intermittent renewable resources and the other factors described in the "Risks and Uncertainties" section of Northland's 2016 Annual Report and Annual Information Form, both of which can be found at www.sedar.com under Northland's profile and on Northland's website www.northlandpower.ca. Northland's actual results could differ materially from those expressed in, or implied by, these forward-looking statements and, accordingly, no assurances can be given that any of the events anticipated by the forward-looking statements will transpire or occur.
The forward-looking statements contained in this release are based on assumptions that were considered reasonable on date of release. Other than as specifically required by law, Northland undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after such date or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events, whether as a result of new information, future events or results, or otherwise.
For further information:
Contact Barb Bokla, Manager, Investor Relations, 647-288-1438
Or Sarah Charuk, Director of Communications, 647-288-1105
E-Mail: [email protected]
Website: www.northlandpower.ca
This announcement is distributed by Nasdaq Corporate Solutions on behalf of Nasdaq Corporate Solutions clients.
The issuer of this announcement warrants that they are solely responsible for the content, accuracy and originality of the information contained therein.
Source: Northland Power Inc. via Globenewswire
