Sempra U.S. Gas & Power Announces Acquisition of Minnesota Wind Project

SAN DIEGO, April 23, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Sempra U.S. Gas & Power today announced it has acquired the Black Oak Getty wind project in Minnesota from Geronimo Energy, LLC, a utility-scale wind and solar energy developer. When the 78-megawatt (MW) Black Oak Getty is completed, Sempra U.S. Gas & Power, along with its affiliates and joint-venture partners, will have wind facilities in seven states totaling more than 1,200 MW of generating capacity.

Located in Stearns County, Minn., the Black Oak Getty wind farm will generate enough renewable power for approximately 30,000 Minnesota homes. The project is expected to move into full construction in spring 2016.

"We are pleased to have the opportunity to diversify and expand our renewables portfolio through the acquisition, development and operation of the Black Oak Getty wind project," said Patricia K. Wagner, president and CEO of Sempra U.S. Gas & Power. "We look forward to providing Minnesota with a stable supply of clean, renewable energy and becoming a long-term partner with the local community through the development and operation of this project."

The project is expected to employ about 250 workers at peak construction and be in commercial operation by late 2016. The entire power output from the wind farm has been sold to Minnesota Municipal Power Agency (MMPA) under a 20-year contract.

"We look forward to working with Sempra U.S. Gas & Power as a long term partner," said Derick O. Dahlen, executive director for Minnesota Municipal Power Agency. "MMPA's purchase from this wind project will help MMPA meet its renewable energy obligation of 25 percent in 2025."

"Geronimo is pleased to partner with a world-class company like Sempra U.S. Gas & Power to bring the Black Oak Getty wind farm into operation," said Blake Nixon, president of Geronimo Energy. "As a result of this transaction, the Black Oak Getty wind farm will bring positive economic impact to the local area and stable, low cost energy to the customers of Minnesota Municipal Power Agency."

Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.    

About Sempra U.S. Gas & Power
Sempra U.S. Gas & Power, LLC is a leading developer of renewable energy and natural gas solutions with power plants that generate enough electricity for nearly 600,000 homes and businesses. Sempra U.S. Gas & Power companies also operate natural gas storage facilities, pipelines and distribution utilities. The company is a subsidiary of Sempra Energy (NYSE: SRE), a Fortune 500 energy services holding company with 2014 revenues of approximately $11 billion. The Sempra Energy companies' 17,000 employees serve more than 32 million consumers worldwide.  For more information, visit www.SempraUSGP.com.

About Geronimo Energy
Geronimo Energy is a utility-scale renewable energy development company headquartered in Edina, Minnesota. Geronimo has developed multiple operating wind farms and solar projects throughout the Midwestern United States. Together with its various project partners, Geronimo is poised to build wind projects with an aggregate nameplate capacity of over 1,000 MW and approximately 200 MW of solar projects throughout the Midwest by the end of 2016. Geronimo has a multi-gigawatt development pipeline of wind and solar projects in various stages of development throughout the United States and provides custom renewable energy development solutions for utilities and corporations looking to harness renewable energy for business growth. For more information about Geronimo Energy, visit www.geronimoenergy.com.

This press release contains statements that are not historical fact and constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.  These statements can be identified by words like "believes," "expects," "anticipates," "plans," "estimates,"  "projects," "forecasts," "contemplates," "intends," "depends," "should," "could," "would," "will," "confident," "may," "potential," "target," "pursue," "goals," "outlook," "maintain" or similar expressions, or discussions of guidance, strategies, plans, goals, opportunities, projections, initiatives, objectives or intentions.  Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of performance.  They involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions.  Future results may differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements.  Factors among others that could cause our actual results and future actions to differ materially from those described in our forward-looking statements include:: local, regional, national and international economic, competitive, political, legislative and regulatory conditions and developments; actions and the timing of actions, including issuances of permits to construct and licenses for operation, by the California Public Utilities Commission, California State Legislature, U.S. Department of Energy, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Atomic Safety and Licensing Board, California Energy Commission, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, California Air Resources Board, and other regulatory, governmental and environmental bodies in the United States and other countries in which we operate; the timing and success of business development efforts and construction, maintenance and capital projects, including risks in obtaining, maintaining or extending permits, licenses, certificates and other authorizations on a timely basis and risks in obtaining adequate and competitive financing for such projects; energy markets, including the timing and extent of changes and volatility in commodity prices, and the impact of any protracted reduction in oil prices from historical averages; the impact on the value of our natural gas storage assets from low natural gas prices, low volatility of natural gas prices and the inability to procure favorable long-term contracts for natural gas storage services; delays in the timing of costs incurred and the timing of the regulatory agency authorization to recover such costs in rates from customers; capital markets conditions, including the availability of credit and the liquidity of our investments; inflation, interest and currency exchange rates; the impact of benchmark interest rates, generally Moody's A-rated utility bond yields, on our California Utilities' cost of capital; the availability of electric power, natural gas and liquefied natural gas, and natural gas pipeline and storage capacity, including disruptions caused by failures in the North American transmission grid, pipeline explosions and equipment failures and the decommissioning of San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station; cybersecurity threats to the energy grid, natural gas storage and pipeline infrastructure, the information and systems used to operate our businesses and the confidentiality of our proprietary information and the personal information of our customers, terrorist attacks that threaten system operations and critical infrastructure, and wars; the ability to win competitively bid infrastructure projects against a number of strong competitors willing to aggressively bid for these projects; weather conditions, conservation efforts, natural disasters, catastrophic accidents, and other events that may disrupt our operations, damage our facilities and systems, and subject us to third-party liability for property damage or personal injuries; risks that our partners or counterparties will be unable or unwilling to fulfill their contractual commitments; risks posed by decisions and actions of third parties who control the operations of investments in which we do not have a controlling interest; risks inherent with nuclear power facilities and radioactive materials storage, including the catastrophic release of such materials, the disallowance of the recovery of the investment in, or operating costs of, the nuclear facility due to an extended outage and facility closure, and increased regulatory oversight; business, regulatory, environmental and legal decisions and requirements; expropriation of assets by foreign governments and title and other property disputes; the impact on reliability of San Diego Gas & Electric Company's (SDG&E) electric transmission and distribution system due to increased amount and variability of power supply from renewable energy sources; the impact on competitive customer rates of the growth in distributed and local power generation and the corresponding decrease in demand for power delivered through SDG&E's electric transmission and distribution system; the inability or determination not to enter into long-term supply and sales agreements or long-term firm capacity agreements due to insufficient market interest, unattractive pricing or other factors; the resolution of litigation; and other uncertainties, all of which are difficult to predict and many of which are beyond our control.  These risks and uncertainties are further discussed in the reports that Sempra Energy has filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. These reports are available through the EDGAR system free-of-charge on the SEC's website, www.sec.gov, and on the company's website at www.sempra.com. Investors should not rely unduly on any forward-looking statements.  These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date hereof, and the company undertakes no obligation to update or revise these forecasts or projections or other forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Sempra International, LLC, and Sempra U.S. Gas & Power, LLC, are not the same companies as the California utilities, San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) or Southern California Gas Company (SoCalGas), and Sempra International, LLC, and Sempra U.S. Gas & Power, LLC, are not regulated by the California Public Utilities Commission. Sempra International's underlying entities include Sempra Mexico and Sempra South American Utilities. Sempra U.S. Gas & Power's underlying entities include Sempra Renewables and Sempra Natural Gas.

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SOURCE Sempra U.S. Gas & Power

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