Karbone Structures 20-Year REC Off-Take Agreement for Oregon Community Wind Project with Seattle City Light and OneEnergy Renewables

NEW YORK, Dec. 20, 2011 /PRNewswire-iReach/ -- Karbone, a full service environmental commodities firm, today announced it has successfully structured and closed two long-term off-take agreements for renewable energy certificates (RECs). The agreements are for the next 20 years of full capacity power generation from PaTu Wind Farm LLC (PaTu Wind), a subsidiary of community wind farm developer Oregon Trails Wind Farm LLC. PaTu Wind is a 9-megawatt wind project located in Sherman County, OR.

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The first off-take agreement is between PaTu Wind and OneEnergy Renewables, a clean energy project developer and environmental commodity sales and trading firm. OneEnergy Renewables will purchase the RECs generated by the Project in years 2011 through 2015 and offer them to customers interested in supporting locally-generated renewable energy on the voluntary market.

The second agreement is with Seattle City Light (SCL), Seattle's publicly owned electric utility, which will purchase the project's RECs generated in years 2016 through 2030 to help meet their requirements under Washington's renewable energy portfolio standard. This transaction is one of the first community wind projects to enter into a long-term REC off-take agreement.

"We feel fortunate to have worked on such a groundbreaking project," said CEO of Karbone, Izzet Bensusan . "As a firm specializing in structuring long-term off-take contracts in the WECC, we are excited at the prospect of helping provide commercial solutions to independent power producers to ensure that community wind has a place in the renewable energy portfolio of North America."

The PaTu community wind project was developed by Ormand and Jeff Hilderbrand on land that their family has been farming for more than a century.  The project consists of six GE 1.5 MW turbines and started producing power in December 2010. 

"I appreciate Karbone's efforts in matching the needs of Seattle City Light and OneEnergy Renewables to PaTu Wind," said CEO of PaTu Wind Farm LLC,Orman Hilderbrand. "PaTu Wind is committed to local investment and development in Sherman County.  The long-term agreements by Seattle City Light and OneEnergy Renewables gives PaTu much needed support for our continuing efforts to stimulate local investment and development."

The 9 MW PaTu wind farm is surrounded by the 850 MW Klondike and Biglow Canyon wind farms. The name "PaTu," which means snowfields, comes from Native American legends. Mt. Adams, a majestic snow covered peak, is north of PaTu Wind and was inhabited by the Wasco and Yakama tribes. To these ancient tribes, the snowfields of Mt. Adams were the source of all life and energy. In the Native American legends, PaTu (Mt. Adams) and Wy'East (Mt. Hood) were brothers, as are Ormand and Jeff Hilderbrand , the original developers of PaTu Wind.

"We're committed to building a clean energy economy, and sourcing RECs from projects like PaTu Wind is a big part of how we do that," said Bryce Smith , CEO of OneEnergy Renewables. "These RECs allow us to offer our Pacific Northwest customers a unique way to support a truly community-based, locally owned project," he added. "As clean energy project developers, we know how to select the highest-quality RECs and offsets for our voluntary customers. PaTu Wind works with independent tracking programs to verify its products, and we pass that along to our customers, as well as the knowledge that purchasing RECs from us further supports our clean energy projects." 

"City Light appreciates the opportunity to work with PaTu and Karbone as City Light fulfills its renewable portfolio standard requirements at the least possible cost to our customer-owners," said Robert Cromwell , director of resource acquisition for Seattle City Light. "This agreement contributes to the continued development of renewable generation in the Northwest, consistent with the City of Seattle's values and vision for a clean energy economy."

About Karbone

Karbone is a full service firm specializing in Renewable Energy and Environmental Markets. Karbone offers integrated brokerage, capital and research & advisory services. The firm's mission is to provide clients with intelligence, capital and access to markets to help them succeed in the new energy economy. For more information, visit the company online at www.Karbone.com. 

About PaTu Wind

PaTu Wind is one of the first community scale renewable energy projects in the Pacific Northwest.  PaTu is dedicated to being a reliable energy supplier and to continuing providing jobs and investment in the local community.

About Seattle City Light

Seattle City Light is the 10th largest public electric utility in the United States. It has some of the lowest cost customer rates of any urban utility, providing reliable, renewable and environmentally responsible power to nearly 1 million Seattle area residents. City Light has been greenhouse gas neutral since 2005, the first electric utility in the nation to achieve that distinction.

About OneEnergy Renewables

OneEnergy Renewables is dedicated to expanding the use, availability and future of clean energy in the United States. The company drives demand for renewable energy through the sale of Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) and carbon offsets, and drives supply through the development of utility-scale wind and solar projects. Purchasing clean energy products from OneEnergy Renewables helps support the company's wind and solar projects under development. As a result, its RECs and offsets do more to advance the future of clean energy in this country. Founded in 2009, OneEnergy Renewables is a Certified B Corporation and is headquartered in Seattle. For more information, visit the company online at www.OneEnergyRenewables.com. 

Media Contact: Public Relations Karbone, (646) 291-2900, communications@karbone.com

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SOURCE Karbone

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