CH Shirley Wind L.L.C. said it will invest nearly $50 million in a 20-megawatt wind farm facility in Wisconsin.
CH Shirley Wind, a subsidiary of Central Hudson Enterprises Corp., will acquire a 90 percent controlling interest in the project, which includes a 20-year contract with Wisconsin Public Service Corp. for the electric output of its eight wind turbines.
“We have been giving careful reconsideration to the investments of our unregulated subsidiary CHEC ”“ seeking out opportunities that exhibit the type of stable and predictable earnings and cash flow that support both a strong dividend and share price appreciation over time,” said Steven V. Lant, president and CEO of CH Energy Group.
“Going forward, we believe that CHEC should be focused on fuel distribution subsidiary Griffith Energy Services, which was recently streamlined following a strategic assessment, and a specific set of potential renewable energy projects,” he said. “This investment in the Shirley wind project fits that profile, as do two recent CHEC investments in landfill gas projects.”
Lant said that Central Hudson Gas & Electric Corp. is expected to continue to be the predominant portion of CH Energy Group and that future CHEC investments will complement the utility”™s long-range stability and value.
Construction on Shirley Wind will begin in 2010 and is expected to be completed in the fourth quarter. The eight wind turbines, which will be supplied by Nordex USA, are projected to generate nearly 64 million kilowatt hours of electricity per year, enough power to supply energy to approximately 8,000 homes.
CHEC also holds approximately $5 million in minority investments in two other wind farms, one a 24-megawatt project in Bear Creek, Pa., and the second, a 7.5-megawatt facility located in Atlantic City.
