Pattern Energy Group has entered the Japan renewable energy market with solar and wind deals.
Pattern Energy Group Inc. acquired 206 megawatts of owned capacity in projects from Pattern Energy Group LP (Pattern Development 1.0) and Green Power Investments, and an additional investment in Pattern Energy Group 2 LP (Pattern Development 2.0) to fund the acquisition of a controlling interest in GPI, a Japanese renewable developer, from Pattern Development 1.0.
The sales price for the portfolio was $131.5 million, and the investment in Pattern Development 2.0 was $27 million.
“These investments represent Pattern Energy’s entry into the exciting Japanese renewables market by acquiring a portfolio of projects and by making an additional investment in Pattern Development 2.0 to fund a well-established operating and development management team, GPI,” said Mike Garland, CEO of Pattern Energy. “Japan is one of the largest electrical grids in the world and has one of the most robust renewable energy markets. Under the Feed-in Tariff (FiT) power contracts, these initial projects average ¥25,340 per megawatt hour (MWh) (or the equivalent of $230/MWh at an ¥110/USD exchange rate). GPI’s development pipeline consists of 2.4 gigawatts of projects, including 600 megawatts of wind capacity, which have qualified for FiT contracts. Additionally, we believe that as we grow our portfolio, we will be able to enhance our economics over time with the use of local, low cost capital.”
The 206-megawatt portfolio consists of two operating solar projects (Futtsu and Kanagi), one operating wind project (Otsuki) and two in-construction wind projects (Ohorayama and Tsugaru).
