Energy Investors Funds has announced that its US Power Fund III has acquired Watertown Renewable Power, a 30-megawatt biomass power project currently under development in Watertown, Con
Energy Investors Funds has announced that its US Power Fund III has acquired Watertown Renewable Power, a 30-megawatt biomass power project currently under development in Watertown, Connecticut, from Tamarack Energy.
Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
‘We’re thrilled to be taking control of Watertown Renewable Power,’ says Lucas Missong, a vice president of Energy Investors Funds. ‘This project provides a new source of clean electricity in a state with limited renewable resources. We believe investments in renewable power projects such as WRP will generate a solid return on investment for our investors as well as help our nation become less dependent on fossil fuels for the creation of electricity.’
Once completed, WRP will be capable of generating enough clean electricity to power roughly 30,000 area homes. The plant will run on small tree branches, stumps, old cargo pallets and trees taken down as part of forestry management programs.
Tamarack launched the Watertown project more than two years ago. Since then, the WRP team has secured numerous local zoning, air and wetlands permits and guided the project through a rigorous state siting process. As a successful applicant to Connecticut’s Project 150 program, WRP was able to negotiate an agreement with Connecticut Light & Power for the purchase of energy from the plant.
EIF has made numerous investments in the clean power sector, including investments in 16 hydroelectric facilities and a portfolio of 19 landfill gas-fired facilities across the US. The landfill projects turn waste methane into electricity and pipeline-quality renewable natural gas. The firm also owns or is funding the development of biomass projects in New England, California and Florida as well as a geothermal project in Nevada. The company has also invested in California-based Solar Power Partners, a national solar energy services provider. In addition, EIF owns 70 percent of the Detroit Resource Recovery Facility, an electric power generation and steam facility fuelled by municipal refuse.
‘We found that a number of well-funded investment groups were interested in discussing the purchase of the Watertown project,’ says Tamarack project manager Mark Mirabito. ‘EIF emerged as the successful buyer because of their significant experience in raising capital for clean energy projects. EIF is ideally positioned to lead WRP to a rapid and successful completion.’
It is expected that some project management staff from Tamarack will remain active in the development of the project. Nearly two dozen jobs will be created at the plant itself. Another 100 workers will be needed to harvest, process, and transport the wood fuel material to the Echo Lake Road project site according to an analysis performed by a leading authority on biomass project development. Hundreds of construction jobs will also be created during the 24-month period building the plant.
