AES Invests in US Wind Force; AES Takes Initial Step into U.S. Wind Market
Sep 02 - Business Wire
The AES Corporation (NYSE:AES) announced today that it is making an equity investment in US Wind Force, LLC as its first step into the U.S. wind market. US Wind Force is a private company that focuses on developing wind energy projects in the fast-growing Eastern United States.
"We see a lot of potential in wind as a new and expanding source of
electricity here in the United States and in other OECD countries," said
AES President and Chief Executive Officer Paul Hanrahan. "This is a natural
extension of our existing generation business. It provides a good opportunity
for AES to enter the U.S. wind energy sector in the highly attractive East Coast
market through a company that has good sites, a good market and a good
management team. We look forward to working with US Wind Force to bring people a
clean alternative source of electricity."
"We are delighted with our new relationship with AES. We see an
alignment of our strategic interests in wind and renewables and believe the
management and business culture of both our companies are well suited to
achieving a common success in the eastern U.S. market," said US Wind Force
Chief Executive Officer David McAnally. "We have over 1200 MWs of wind
development assets in various stages of progress. This is a win-win for both AES
and US Wind Force."
US Wind Force is currently accepting proposals and negotiating power off-take
contracts for the first three Mid-Atlantic projects in its project portfolio.
All three of these projects could be slated for construction as early as 2005.
US Wind Force is seeing strong demand in the newly developing renewable energy
market on the East Coast and predicts a high level of sustained growth over the
next ten years.
World electricity production from wind is growing rapidly. The U.S. ranks
second in the world in wind-driven capacity with more than 6,200 MW. Over the
next ten years, wind generating capacity is expected to exceed 10,000 MW in the
Northeast U.S. alone.
"Safe Harbor" Statement under the Private Securities Litigation
Reform Act of 1995
Statements in this press release regarding AES Corporation's business which
are not historical facts are "forward-looking statements" that involve
risks and uncertainties. For a discussion of such risks and uncertainties, which
could cause actual results to differ from those contained in the forward-looking
statements, see "Cautionary Statements and Risk Factors" in the
Company's 2003 Form 10-K.
About AES
AES is a leading global power company, with 2003 sales of $8.4 billion. AES
operates in 27 countries, generating 45,000 megawatts of electricity through 113
power facilities and delivers electricity through 17 distribution companies. Our
30,000 people are committed to operational excellence and meeting the world's
growing power needs. To learn more about AES, please visit www.aes.com or
contact AES media relations at media@aes.com.
About US Wind Force
US Wind Force is a privately held wind energy developer with regional offices
located in Frostburg, Maryland and Petersburg, West Virginia and an executive
office soon to be opened just north of Pittsburgh, Pa. The company began the
initial stages of developing a pipeline of wind generating sites in the
Mid-Atlantic region in 2000 and currently has two permitted projects in Maryland
and West Virginia as well as a number of additional sites in various stages of
development. For far more extensive news on the energy/power
visit: http://www.energycentral.com
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