Suzlon Energy, through its U.S.-based subsidiary Sweco, has taken possession of Big Sky wind park from Edison Mission Energy to recover the loan amount it had advanced to the troubled firm.
With this acquisition, the wind park consisting of 114 S88 turbines located in Illinois will now be Suzlon Group’s biggest wind park in the U.S. and one of the best performing installations in the country, the company said in a filing to the stock exchanges.
“We are very pleased to have worked with our long time customer Edison Mission on this transaction. Our relationship with Edison Mission dates back to the earliest days of Suzlon doing business with the U.S. and we are pleased to have been their partner,” said Duncan Koerbel, CEO, Sweco.
The wind farm with a generating capacity of 240 MW has been operating since 2011 and it was owned by Midwest Generation LLC, a unit of California-based Edison Mission Energy which is now in bankruptcy.
In 2009, Suzlon had provided a loan to finance the project despite knowing that the project had no long-term contract to sell power. The loan estimated at $230 million could not be repaid.
Suzlon was in discussions with Edison Mission for months for restructuring the debt but with no relief in sight Suzlon filed a law suit in 2012 to recover the loan. Now the asset has been transferred, the law suit will be withdrawn, Suzlon said. Suzlon is now exploring various options to monetise the asset.
