Trying to cut its debt, Exelon Corporation, the nation’s largest utility owner is selling nearly half of its interest in a 1,300-megawatt renewable generation portfolio that includes its operations in Oklahoma.
John Hancock Life Insurance company is the buyer in the $400 million deal, according to documents on file with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
The sale will give John Hancock a 49 percent stake in ExGen Renewables Partners, LLC which operates 30 wind and solar projects in Oklahoma and a dozen other states. The Bluestem Wind Project in Beaver County, consisting of 60 turbines is the first in the state for Exelon Generation. The purchase was made in late 1915 and finalized in January of this year.
The project will distribute power through OGE’s transmission system and feed the grids of cities and industries in Oklahoma as well as to the Southwest Power Pool region.
Exelon executives acknowledged during the company’s last earnings call that they sought to reduce their stake in renewables. But the company said it doesn’t want to sell off renewable holdings entirely.
“We want to maintain a stake in that business, as it’s important to our overall participation in the energy complex,” Chief Financial Officer Jack Thayer said on the call.
The sale is expected to close late this quarter or early in the third quarter and requires approval from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and Public Utility Commission of Texas.
Monday’s filing said Exelon will continue to operate the wind and solar projects.
