This project, valued at approximately $200 million, has an installed capacity of 68 MW with commissioning scheduled for late 2014.
"The financing for Phase II is a major milestone in the development of the Seigneurie de Beaupré Wind Farms which, on completion, will be among the largest wind power projects in Canada," said Boralex President and CEO Patrick Lemaire and Gaz Métro President and CEO Sophie Brochu. "The economic benefits of Phase II, estimated at $14 million, will be in addition to the $117 million generated to date by the project’s Phase I in the greater Québec City area," added Mr. Lemaire and Ms. Brochu.
Total financing, amounting to $166.1 million, consists of:
A $142.4 million construction loan, to be converted into a fixed-rate term loan amortized over a 19.5-year term after the beginning of commercial operations scheduled for December 2014, and
A short-term bridge financing and a letter of credit facility, totalling $23.7 million, for purposes of financing certain costs incurred during construction that are reimbursable by Hydro-Québec and issuing
various letters of credit.
With this financing and given the investments and the commitments undertaken by the partners Boralex, Gaz Métro and Valener, Phase II of the Seigneurie de Beaupré Wind Farms is now fully funded.
The group of lenders consists of Sun Life Financial, KfW IPEX-Bank and Industrial Alliance Insurance and Financial Services Inc.
Construction of Phase II, comprising 28 Enercon turbines, is already underway onsite, involving over 200 workers with a view to building all of the access roads, the wind turbine foundations and most of the power collector systems in 2013. In 2014, work will continue to complete the collector systems, erect the towers, assemble the turbines and install the substation electrical equipment for commissioning scheduled in December 2014.
