CHICAGO — The wind farm company operating in Ford and Iroquois Counties has been assured of its financial backing.
E.On Climate & Renewables North America announced Monday that it has secured $150 million of institutional equity financing from Bank of America Merrill Lynch in exchange for a partial interest in its Pioneer Trail Wind Farm near Paxton.
Through what is known as "tax equity financing," Bank of America Merrill Lynch will provide the $150 million up front and will be reimbursed through federal production tax credits that the 150-megawatt wind farm receives, according to Matt Tulis, communications manager for E.On Climate & Renewables North America, a Chicago-based subsidiary of Germany-based E.On.
Tulis said the financing investment helps the firm because "we don't have a big enough tax liability to use all the tax credits the wind farm generates. The action, Tulis said, allows for monies to be invested in other wind farms.
The federal production tax credit gives wind farm developers about $22 per megawatt of energy produced, Tulis said.
The tax credit is due to expire this year in the U.S., and the wind energy industry has been lobbying Congress in recent weeks to extend it. A recent study found that extending the tax credit will allow the industry to grow to 100,000 jobs in just four years, while an expiration will cause the loss of 37,000 jobs, according to the American Wind Energy Association's website.
E.On's Pioneer Trail Wind Farm, built last fall in eastern Ford and southern Iroquois counties, features 94 1.6-megawatt turbines capable of supplying power to more than 45,000 households. It is the second wind farm the company has built in Illinois, as E.On last year also completed its 150-megawatt Settlers Trail Wind Farm near Sheldon in Iroquois County.
In February, E.On secured $122.2 million of institutional equity financing from JPM Capital Corp. and Wells Fargo Wind Holdings LLC in exchange for a partial interest in the Settlers Trail Wind Farm. JP Morgan acted as lead investor in the financing.
The Pioneer Trail Wind Farm is expected to generate more than $29 million in local taxes, pay $8 million in local salaries, and earn landowners more than $50 million over its 25-year lifespan. The Pioneer Trail Wind Farm is the 15th operational wind farm in North America for E.On, giving the company more than 2,200 megawatts online.
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