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Punta Lima wind farm sold to Sovereign Bank for $88M

The Punta Lima wind farm has a power purchase and operating agreement with the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority.

The Punta Lima wind farm has a power purchase and operating agreement with the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority.

Gestamp Wind Energy North America announced Monday the sale of the 23-megawatt Punta Lima wind farm outside Naguabo to Sovereign Bank, N.A., a subsidiary of Banco Santander.

The operation is the first in Puerto Rico for the company, a division of Spain’s Corporación Gestamp. The Punta Lima project consists of 13 wind turbines that have been in production since October 2012, and have the capacity to meet the energy demands for 9,000 homes in several towns along the east.

The project cost $82 million to develop and created about 130 jobs when inaugurated last year by members of the former Gov. Luis Fortuño administration as part of its push toward renewable energy.

A multi-disciplinary renewable energy team from New York-based CohnReznick LLP, along with key members of Reznick Capital Markets Securities, helped Gestamp pull off the sale and leaseback transaction.

“We’re pleased to be working closely with CohnReznick and Reznick Capital Markets Securities, who we selected as a direct result of their proven track record of advising us on a total of four wind farms to date,” said Gestamp Wind CFO Alejandro Burgaleta. “Their expertise in renewable energy transactions and comprehensive financial and accounting services was critical throughout this complex financial transaction.”

The Punta Lima wind farm has a power purchase and operating agreement with the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority, which contracted 100 percent of the energy produced along with the renewable energy credits.

“Our team was able to continuously evolve its approach as we worked with Gestamp Wind to help navigate the challenges associated with financing a wind farm in Puerto Rico,” said Robert Sternthal, Reznick Capital Markets Securities. “As a result of our depth of knowledge in the renewable energy space, we were well positioned to overcome related obstacles and challenges and provide the leadership to successfully finalize this deal in a short time frame.”

Author Details
Author Details
Business reporter with 30 years of experience writing for weekly and daily newspapers, as well as trade publications in Puerto Rico. My list of former employers includes Caribbean Business, The San Juan Star, and the Puerto Rico Daily Sun, among others. My areas of expertise include telecommunications, technology, retail, agriculture, tourism, banking and most other segments of Puerto Rico’s economy.
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2 Comments

  1. Porto Capital March 12, 2013

    The towns listed are definitely wrong… or technology has risen to new heights.

    Reply
    1. newsismybusiness March 12, 2013

      OUR APOLOGIES! Clearly, it was an error in editing. The information has been corrected. Thank you for pointing it out.

      Reply

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