US: NextEra Energy Partners announces acquisition of approximately 299 megawatts of contracted renewables projects

NextEra Energy Partners, LP announced that it has entered into an agreement with a subsidiary of its sponsor, NextEra Energy Resources, LLC, to acquire the Seiling I & II Wind Energy Centers, a combined 299.2-megawatt (MW) wind generation site in Dewey and Woodward counties, Okla. When completed, the acquisition of these assets will expand NextEra Energy Partners' portfolio of contracted renewable energy projects to approximately 2,509 MW.

"We are pleased to announce the acquisition of these two high-quality wind energy centers, both of which are fully contracted with long-term power purchase contracts in place with strong creditworthy counterparties," said Jim Robo, chairman and chief executive officer. "This acquisition represents yet another example of the strength of the pipeline of organic growth opportunities that our sponsor, NextEra Energy Resources, provides and positions us to advance our growth strategy and deliver unitholder distributions consistent with the expectations we've outlined."

NextEra Energy Partners expects to complete the acquisition in the first quarter of 2016 for a total consideration of approximately $323 million, plus the assumption of approximately $200 million in tax equity financing. The purchase price is subject to working capital adjustments. The partnership expects to fund the transaction, in part, through the net proceeds of an issuance of common units, with the balance of the purchase price expected to be funded through a draw under a subsidiary of NextEra Energy Partners' revolving credit facility.

NextEra Energy Partners expects the acquisition to contribute adjusted EBITDA of approximately $73 million to $83 million and CAFD of approximately $30 million to $35 million, each on an annual run rate basis as of Dec. 31, 2016. The acquisition is expected to contribute to a 3.7 percent increase in the first-quarter distribution to an annualized rate of $1.275 per common unit and support NextEra Energy Partners' current expectations of 12 to 15 percent per year growth in limited partner distributions through 2020 off a $1.23 annualized rate baseline.