American Capital Energy & Infrastructure Partners with Veteran Management Team to Establish BMR Energy and Commits $25 Million to First Project
ANNAPOLIS, Maryland, Dec. 18, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- American Capital Energy & Infrastructure ("ACEI") announced today that it has partnered with a veteran management team to create BMR Energy LLC ("BMR"), a new energy company focused on developing and investing in power and related energy infrastructure throughout Central America and the Caribbean.
Led by Bruce Levy as Chief Executive Officer, BMR's management team has over 60 years of collective experience in global energy project development, acquisition and operations. Mr. Levy has held key executive positions in the U.S. and international energy sectors for the past 30 years, most recently as President and CEO of International Power North America (now part of GDF SUEZ Energy International). Mr. Levy is joined by Andrew Rovito and Pip Decker. Mr. Rovito has extensive experience in global energy project development and finance and most recently co-founded Development Partners Group, a developer of fossil fuel independent power projects throughout the U.S. Mr. Decker has been involved in the renewable energy industry, focused on the development, construction and operation of wind and solar facilities throughout the U.S., and, prior to BMR, focused on project development for Brookfield Renewable Power.
Mr. Paul Hanrahan, CEO and co-founder of ACEI, said: "We are excited to partner with Bruce, Andrew and Pip in building this new platform. Bruce is a knowledgeable and successful international executive who leads a talented team with strong energy infrastructure development and operational experience. This partnership will enable ACEI to expand into the Caribbean and Central American region with the development of competitive and environmentally responsible power and related energy infrastructure to serve the region's growing energy needs."
BMR's first project is a 34 MW wind farm in Malvern, St. Elizabeth Parish, Jamaica. In September 2013, the Office of Utility Regulation in Jamaica selected BMR to build, own, and operate the wind project, which is expected to be operational in 2015. The company also has a mature project pipeline throughout the region.
Mr. Hanrahan added: "There is a tremendous opportunity for renewable and efficient fossil fueled generation and gas infrastructure to displace expensive oil-fired power plants in Jamaica, as well as throughout the Caribbean and Central American region. With most of Jamaica's electrical power produced by diesel and heavy fuel oil, Jamaica depends on relatively expensive petroleum imports to satisfy its national energy needs. Renewable power and other energy infrastructure can substantially reduce the cost of power while also improving the environment in Jamaica."
"ACEI's deep operational and development knowledge, combined with its extensive global network in the industry, as well as its financial strength will add significant value to BMR and our first project in Jamaica," said Mr. Levy. "Power from our Jamaica wind project should be among the lowest price available in the country. We are pursuing similar opportunities for wind, solar and fossil fueled energy projects and expect that our technical and development expertise as well as our financial strength will offer new options to governments and energy users across the region. We look forward to being a part of this effort."
ABOUT AMERICAN CAPITAL ENERGY & INFRASTRUCTURE
American Capital Energy & Infrastructure invests in global energy infrastructure assets, including power generation facilities, power distribution and transmission networks, energy transportation assets, fuel production opportunities and product and service companies focused on the power and energy sectors. ACEI is part of American Capital, Ltd.'s (Nasdaq: ACAS) ("American Capital") asset management affiliate, American Capital Asset Management, LLC. For further information, please refer to www.ACEI.com.
ABOUT AMERICAN CAPITAL
American Capital is a publicly traded private equity firm and global asset manager. American Capital, both directly and through its asset management business, originates, underwrites and manages investments in middle market private equity, leveraged finance, real estate, energy and infrastructure and structured products. American Capital manages $20 billion of assets, including assets on its balance sheet and fee earning assets under management by affiliated managers, with $117 billion of total assets under management (including levered assets). Through an affiliate, American Capital manages publicly traded American Capital Agency Corp. (Nasdaq: AGNC) with approximately $10 billion of net book value and American Capital Mortgage Investment Corp. (Nasdaq: MTGE) with approximately $1 billion of net book value. From its eight offices in the U.S. and Europe, American Capital and its affiliate, European Capital, will consider investment opportunities from $10 million to $750 million. For further information, please refer to www.americancapital.com.
ABOUT BMR ENERGY
Headquartered in New York City, BMR Energy was founded in 2013 to focus on acquiring, developing, owning and operating power and energy related assets in the Caribbean and Central America. The BMR team brings more than 60 years of combined international energy infrastructure development and operational experience.
Contact: (443) 214-7070
Paul Hanrahan, Chief Executive Officer
Richard Santoroski, Managing Director
Rajeev Garside, Vice President
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