MIC completes first wind power acquisition

Macquarie Infrastructure Company (MIC) has completed the acquisition of a 19.8-megawatt (MW) wind project in New Mexico, marking the first investment in wind power generation by the New York-based company.

MIC acquired the asset from BayWa re Wind, part of the BayWa renewable energy group, for an undisclosed amount.

“This particular opportunity meets our investment criteria in that it is an existing facility with a proven wind resource, there is a 20-year power purchase agreement in place with an investment grade counterparty and we were able to structure the investment in a manner that provides us with good visibility into the cash generating of the facility, similar to our existing contracted power projects,” MIC’s chief executive James Hooke said.

The company has been looking to diversify its contracted power and energy segment beyond solar power for some time, according to Hooke.

The Brahms wind project as it is known, is located in Curry County, New Mexico and began commercial operation on February 7, 2014. BayWa re Wind self-funded the development and construction of the wind farm and will provide asset management services.

Last month, the renewable energy developer announced that it had secured a tax equity investment from an affiliate of San Francisco-based Union Bank, “a very important milestone for our company,” BayWa re Wind’s president and chief executive Florian Zerhusen said at the time.

The company intends to seek more such investments as well as other forms of project finance to build out its pipeline, according to Zerhusen.
BayWa re Wind has also constructed, and now owns and operates, two other wind projects in Texas and California.

Based in New York, MIC owns, operates and invests in a diversified group of infrastructure businesses including a gas processing and distribution business, Hawaii Gas, Direct Energy, and MIC Solar. MIC also owns and operates Atlantic Aviation, an airport services business.

MIC is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sydney-based asset manager Macquarie Group.