J-POWER USA Acquires Equity Stake in Tenaska Power Plant Project in Pennsylvania

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Jan 12, 2017, 09:00 ET

OMAHA, Neb., Jan. 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- J-POWER Westmoreland, LLC, a subsidiary of J-POWER USA Investment Co., Ltd. ("J-POWER USA"), has secured an equity stake from Tenaska in the Tenaska Westmoreland Generating Station, a 925-megawatt (MW) natural gas-fueled power plant project near Pittsburgh. The transaction closed on Jan. 11.

"This acquisition is consistent with our strategy of investing in and developing high-quality power generating facilities which connect to reliable power markets, like PJM," said Mark Condon, president and CEO of J-POWER USA. "J-POWER USA will actively continue to look for opportunities to expand its North American power generation business."

The Tenaska Westmoreland project is owned by affiliates of Tenaska, Diamond Generating Corporation, which is a subsidiary of Tokyo-based Mitsubishi Corporation, and now J-POWER USA.

J-POWER USA is a subsidiary of Tokyo-based Electric Power Development Co., Ltd ("J-POWER"), an independent power producer and the largest wholesale utility in Japan. J-POWER's relationship with Tenaska includes investments in natural gas-fueled power generating facilities in Texas and Virginia.

"We are pleased to have J-POWER USA investing alongside Tenaska as a partner in the Westmoreland project," said Dave Kirkwood, senior vice president in Tenaska's Strategic Development & Acquisitions Group. "Our relationship with J-POWER USA began over 10 years ago, and we have since built a strong partnership. This investment by J-POWER USA is representative of the bond we have formed over the course of the past decade."

Since its founding in 1987, Tenaska has raised approximately $14.4 billion in capital through bank facilities, capital market transactions, corporate facilities and equity, supporting the successful development of approximately 10,000 MW of natural gas-fueled and renewable power projects. Commercial financing for the Tenaska Westmoreland project, which includes five-year revenue hedging, closed in 2016.

Construction of the natural gas-fueled combined-cycle project is underway, with commercial operation targeted for 2018. When complete, Tenaska Westmoreland will serve the PJM Interconnection market, which coordinates the delivery of power in all or parts of 13 eastern states and the District of Columbia.

About Tenaska
Tenaska, based in Omaha, Nebraska, is one of the leading independent power producers in the United States, with regional offices in Dallas, Denver, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Boston and Calgary, Alberta and Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Forbes magazine ranks Tenaska among the largest privately held U.S. companies. Tenaska and its affiliates have developed approximately 10,000 megawatts (MW) of natural gas-fueled and renewable power generation and manage operations for approximately 7,000 MW of power generation consisting of nine power plants.

Tenaska formed Tenaska Pennsylvania Partners, LLC to build, own and operate the Tenaska Westmoreland Generating Station. An affiliate of Tenaska serves as the managing partner.

Tenaska affiliates also market natural gas and electric power and provide energy risk management services. Tenaska is involved in asset acquisition, natural gas fuel supply and transportation systems, and electric transmission development. For more information about Tenaska, visit www.tenaska.com.

About JPOWER
J-POWER USA Investment Co., Ltd. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Electric Power Development Co., Ltd. with headquarters located in Tokyo, Japan. J-POWER USA, headquartered in the greater Chicago area, has a long-term strategy to acquire, develop, finance and operate power generation facilities in North America through its team of power professionals with a proven track record of successfully developing and acquiring power projects in the IPP sector.

J-POWER stock is listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. In the fiscal year ending March 2016, J-POWER had revenues of U.S. $6.9 billion and assets of approximately U.S. $22.6 billion. With approximately 25,000 megawatts of net ownership, J-POWER is one of the world's largest independent generators of electricity, owning 96 power plants in Japan with total generation of approximately 18,000 megawatts of installed capacity, and 36 international IPP investments totaling approximately 6,600 megawatts of net installed capacity.

SOURCE Tenaska