SAN DIEGO, July 22, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Sempra U.S. Gas
& Power today announced it has acquired the Apple Blossom wind
project in Michigan from Geronimo
Energy, LLC, a utility-scale wind and solar energy developer. Terms
of the transaction were not disclosed.
When the 100-megawatt (MW) Apple Blossom is completed, Sempra
U.S. Gas & Power, along with its affiliates and joint-venture
partners, will have wind facilities in eight states totaling more
than 1,300 MW of generating capacity.
Located in Huron County, Mich.,
the Apple Blossom wind farm will generate enough clean, renewable
power for approximately 38,000 Michigan homes. Construction is expected to
begin at the wind farm site in fall 2016.
"We are pleased to have the opportunity to acquire, build and
operate the Apple Blossom wind project in the state of Michigan as it continues to position itself as
a wind energy leader," said Kevin C.
Sagara, president of renewables for Sempra U.S. Gas &
Power. "The acquisition of the Apple Blossom wind project enables
our company to continue to invest in the development, construction
and operation of renewable energy infrastructure. We look forward
to providing Michigan with a
stable supply of clean, renewable energy and becoming a long-term
partner with the local community through the development and
operation of this project."
The project is expected to employ about 250 construction workers
at peak and be in commercial operation by year-end 2017. The entire
output from the wind farm has been sold to Consumers Energy under a
15-year contract.
"Geronimo Energy is pleased to work with Sempra U.S. Gas &
Power on a second wind farm project in the Midwestern United
States," said Blake Nixon, president
of Geronimo Energy. "Sempra U.S. Gas & Power brings impressive
wind energy construction and operating expertise and has an aligned
mission with Geronimo Energy's farmer-friendly and
community-focused approach."
"We appreciate the contribution made by Geronimo Energy to
develop the Apple Blossom project and look forward to
collaboration with Sempra U.S Gas & Power as the project
is constructed and operated," said Tim
Sparks, vice president energy supply operations for
Consumers Energy. "Our customers are expressing interest in more
renewable energy development in Michigan. We're pleased to be a leader in
providing an increasingly clean energy portfolio at a very
economical price to the Michigan
families and businesses we serve."
About Sempra U.S. Gas & Power
Sempra U.S. Gas
& Power, LLC is a leading developer of renewable energy and
natural gas projects. For more information,
visit www.SempraUSGP.com. Sempra U.S. Gas & Power is a
subsidiary of Sempra Energy (NYSE: SRE), a Fortune 500
energy services holding company with 2015 revenues of
$10 billion. The Sempra Energy
companies' 17,000 employees serve more than 32 million consumers
worldwide.
About Geronimo Energy
Geronimo Energy is a
utility-scale renewable energy development company headquartered in
Minneapolis, Minnesota. Geronimo
has developed multiple operating wind farms and solar projects
throughout the United States. Over
1,600 megawatts of Geronimo-developed renewable energy projects are
either operational or currently under construction.
Geronimo has a multi-gigawatt development pipeline of wind and
solar projects in various stages of development throughout the
United States and provides custom renewable energy development
solutions for utilities and corporations looking to harness
renewable energy for business growth. For more information about
Geronimo Energy, visit www.geronimoenergy.com.
About Consumers Energy
Consumers Energy, Michigan's largest utility, is the principal
subsidiary of CMS Energy (NYSE: CMS), providing natural gas and
electricity to 6.7 million of the state's 10 million residents in
all 68 Lower Peninsula counties.
This press release contains statements that are not
historical fact and constitute forward-looking statements within
the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of
1995. These statements can be identified by words like
"believes," "expects," "anticipates," "plans," "estimates,"
"projects," "forecasts," "contemplates," "intends," "assumes,"
"depends," "should," "could," "would," "will," "confident," "may,"
"potential," "possible," "proposed," "target,"
"pursue," "goals," "outlook," "maintain," or similar expressions or
discussions of guidance, strategies, plans, goals, opportunities,
projections, initiatives, objectives or intentions. Forward-looking
statements are not guarantees of performance. They involve
risks, uncertainties and assumptions. Future results may
differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking
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Forward-looking statements are necessarily based upon various
assumptions involving judgments with respect to the future and
other risks, including, among others: local, regional,
national and international economic, competitive, political,
legislative, legal and regulatory conditions, decisions and
developments; actions and the timing of actions, including general
rate case decisions, new regulations, issuances of permits to
construct, operate and maintain facilities and equipment and to use
land, franchise agreements and licenses for operation, by the
California Public Utilities Commission, California State
Legislature, U.S. Department of Energy, California Division of Oil,
Gas, and Geothermal Resources, Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission, Nuclear Regulatory Commission, California Energy
Commission, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Pipeline and
Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, California Air Resources
Board, South Coast Air Quality Management District, Mexican
Competition Commission, cities and counties, and other regulatory,
governmental and environmental bodies in the United
States and other countries in which we operate; the timing and
success of business development efforts and construction,
maintenance and capital projects, including risks in obtaining,
maintaining or extending permits, licenses, certificates and other
authorizations on a timely basis and risks in obtaining adequate
and competitive financing for such projects; the resolution of
civil and criminal litigation and regulatory investigations;
deviations from regulatory precedent or practice that result in a
reallocation of benefits or burdens among shareholders and
ratepayers, and delays in regulatory agency authorization to
recover costs in rates from customers; the availability of electric
power, natural gas and liquefied natural gas, and natural gas
pipeline and storage capacity, including disruptions caused by
failures in the North American transmission grid, moratoriums on
the ability to withdraw natural gas from or inject natural gas into
storage facilities, pipeline explosions and equipment failures;
energy markets; the timing and extent of changes and volatility in
commodity prices; the impact on the value of our natural gas
storage and related assets and our investments from low natural gas
prices, low volatility of natural gas prices and the inability to
procure favorable long-term contracts for natural gas storage
services; risks posed by decisions and actions of third
parties who control the operations of investments in which we do
not have a controlling interest, and risks that our partners or
counterparties will be unable (due to liquidity issues, bankruptcy
or otherwise) or unwilling to fulfill their contractual
commitments; capital markets conditions, including the
availability of credit and the liquidity of our investments, and
inflation, interest and currency exchange rates; cybersecurity
threats to the energy grid, natural gas storage and pipeline
infrastructure, the information and systems used to operate our
businesses and the confidentiality of our proprietary information
and the personal information of our customers and employees;
terrorist attacks that threaten system operations and critical
infrastructure; wars; the ability to win competitively bid
infrastructure projects against a number of strong competitors
willing to aggressively bid for these projects; weather conditions,
natural disasters, catastrophic accidents, equipment failures and
other events that may disrupt our operations, damage our facilities
and systems, cause the release of greenhouse gasses, radioactive
materials and harmful emissions, and subject us to third-party
liability for property damage or personal injuries, fines and
penalties, some of which may not be covered by insurance or may be
disputed by insurers; disallowance of regulatory assets associated
with, or decommissioning costs of, the San Onofre Nuclear
Generating Station facility due to increased regulatory oversight,
including motions to modify settlements; expropriation of assets by
foreign governments and title and other property disputes; the
impact on reliability of San Diego Gas & Electric Company's
(SDG&E) electric transmission and distribution system due to
increased amount and variability of power supply from renewable
energy sources and increased reliance on natural gas and natural
gas transmission systems; the impact on competitive customer rates
of the growth in distributed and local power generation and the
corresponding decrease in demand for power delivered through
SDG&E's electric transmission and distribution system; the
inability or determination not to enter into long-term supply and
sales agreements or long-term firm capacity agreements due to
insufficient market interest, unattractive pricing or other
factors; and other uncertainties, all of which are difficult to
predict and many of which are beyond our control.
These risks and uncertainties are further discussed in the
reports that Sempra Energy has filed with the Securities and
Exchange Commission. These reports are available through the EDGAR
system free-of-charge on the SEC's
website, www.sec.gov, and on the company's
website at www.sempra.com. Investors should
not rely unduly on any forward-looking statements. These
forward-looking statements speak only as of the date hereof, and
the company undertakes no obligation to update or revise these
forecasts or projections or other forward-looking statements,
whether as a result of new information, future events or
otherwise.
Sempra International, LLC, Sempra U.S. Gas & Power, LLC,
and Sempra Partners, LP, are not the same companies as
the California utilities, San Diego Gas & Electric
(SDG&E) or Southern California Gas Company (SoCalGas), and
Sempra International, LLC, Sempra U.S. Gas & Power, LLC, and
Sempra Partners, LP, are not regulated by the California Public
Utilities Commission. Sempra International's underlying entities
include Sempra Mexico and Sempra South American Utilities. Sempra
U.S. Gas & Power's underlying entities include Sempra
Renewables and Sempra Natural Gas.
Media
Contacts:
|
Steve
Schooff
|
|
Sempra U.S. Gas &
Power
|
|
(877)
855-7887
|
|
www.semprausgp.com
|
|
|
Financial
Contact:
|
Patrick
Billings
|
|
Sempra
Energy
|
|
(877)
696-2461
|
|
Investor@Sempra.com
|
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SOURCE Sempra U.S. Gas & Power