Southern buys Oklahoma wind project from Apex

OREANDA-NEWS. April 02, 2015. Southern Co. has finalized its purchase of the 299MW Kay Wind facility in Oklahoma from Apex Clean Energy, making it the company's largest renewable generation acquisition to date.

The acquisition brings the total renewable holdings operated by the utility's Southern Power subsidiary to 970MW. The Kay County project is expected to begin commercial operations this year. The purchase agreement between Southern and Apex was initiated on 24 February for approximately \\$492mn, according to filings with securities regulators. Southern announced the deal yesterday.

Generation and associated renewable energy credits (RECs) from the Kay facility will be delivered under separate 20-year power purchase agreements with Westar Energy and Grand River Dam Authority. Westar will buy generation from 199MW of Kay's output to supply customers in Kansas. The Grand River Dam Authority will buy output from the remaining 100MW for its customers in Oklahoma. The companies retain the right to hold or sell the RECs.

"This acquisition fits Southern Power's business strategy," the company said. "Southern Power seeks opportunities that fit the company's risk profile by leveraging a diverse generation fleet."

Southern has made a series of renewable energy acquisitions in recent months. The company bought two California solar projects in late 2014. It bought a 125MW stake in the 139MW Campo Verde solar plant in Imperial County, which has a 20-year contract with San Diego Gas & Electric, and an 18MW stake in the Adobe solar plant in Kern County, which has a 20-year contract with Southern California Edison.

The company is developing three projects through its Georgia Power subsidiary that will deploy a combined 230MW of utility-scale solar across Georgia, as part of a plan to increase its portfolio to 900MW of solar capacity in the state by 2016.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission last week gave the Kay Wind project approval to operate as a merchant generator, allowing it to sell power at market-based rates into the Southwestern Power Pool.