Fisterra Energy, a company majority owned by funds managed by Blackstone
(NYSE:BX), and Blackstone Energy Partners, Blackstone’s energy-focused
private equity business, today announced it has reached a financial
closing for Ventika, Mexico’s largest onshore wind farm upon completion
and one of the largest wind farms in Latin America. Ventika will be
located in the northeastern Mexican state of Nuevo Leon, approximately
35 miles from the United States border, and is comprised of two 126
megawatt (MW) wind farms with total capacity of 252MW. Once completed
the project will alleviate significant demands on Mexico’s existing
power infrastructure, helping Mexico reduce pollution and CO2 emissions,
and meet its target of achieving 35% renewable generation by 2025.
The $650 million project is being jointly developed by CEMEX, a global
building materials company with presence in more than 50 countries, and
Fisterra Energy. This investment funds the installation of 84 Acciona
AW-3000 wind turbine generators, each with a hub height of 120 meters
and a nominal output of 3MW per turbine. Construction of the project,
which is scheduled to be completed in 2016, is expected to generate
approximately 1,000 jobs and more than 2,000 additional jobs in related
industries.
“With the development and construction of Ventika, we will be able to
support Mexico in meeting its green energy targets. This project
exemplifies the progress and positive impact that can be achieved when
private capital works in partnership with government, entrepreneurs and
industry.” said Sean Klimczak, Senior Managing Director at Blackstone.
“We look forward to being active in the Mexican power generation sector
as the country continues to incentivize private investment through its
ongoing energy reform.”
"We are delighted to reach this important milestone and are excited to
begin construction on Ventika,” said Pedro Barriuso, Fisterra's Chairman
and CEO. “We thank our partners, who have shown tremendous dedication to
getting this project off the ground and look forward to continuing our
work with them.”
“We are pleased to have the opportunity to work with Fisterra Energy and
Blackstone in this important project,” said Dr. Luis Farías, CEMEX
Vice-President for Energy and Sustainability. “Ventika is an important
milestone in our energy strategy as industry pioneers in the use of
clean energy and alternative fuels. We look forward to find additional
business opportunities in the near future.”
This past year, Blackstone, together with a management team led by Pedro
Barriuso, the former Executive Chairman of Element Power and former head
of Iberdrola Renewables, formed Fisterra to identify, develop, finance,
construct and operate large-scale independent power projects, with a
focus in Latin America, Europe and the Middle East. Ventika will be the
first investment made by Fisterra.
About Blackstone Energy Partners:
Blackstone Energy Partners is Blackstone’s energy-focused private equity
business, with a successful record built on Blackstone’s industry
expertise and partnerships with exceptional management teams. Since its
founding in 2012, Blackstone Energy Partners has invested more than $6.6
billion of equity across 18 transactions globally, which range from oil
and gas to renewables, natural resources, and power generation.
Copyright Business Wire 2014