RWE Concludes Tax Equity Financing on 220 MW Cranell Onshore Wind Farm

RWE Renewables, one of the world’s leading renewable energy companies, has completed the successful tax equity financing of its 220-megawatt (MW) Cranell Onshore Wind Farm in Refugio County, Texas.

The company secured tax equity financing with JPM Capital Corporation upon the Cranell project achieving commercial operation in the third quarter of 2020.

“We are proud of our record of working hand-in-hand with the communities where our renewables projects are located, throughout our many years of experience in the U.S. onshore wind industry,” said Silvia Ortin, COO Onshore Wind and Solar PV Americas. “In addition to hiring many of the permanent positions from the local region, Cranell brings significant benefits to the local economy.”

During the next 30 years, Cranell is projected to generate more than $50 million in property taxes for Refugio County, Bee County, Woodsboro Independent School District, and Skidmore-Tynan Independent School District. This additional revenue will support essential county services and local schools.

The U.S. plays a key role in our strategy to expand our renewables business. In partnering with JPM Capital Corporation on tax equity financing for our Cranell onshore wind farm, we demonstrate that our high-quality projects are attractive investments to institutional investors. At the same time we are able to enhance our project’s value. We continue to move forward with substantial investment in rural areas across the U.S,” said Ortin.

The project is powered by 100 Vestas 2.2 MW turbines and will have the capacity to generate enough electricity to power more than 66,000 homes. With the addition of Cranell, RWE operates 25 onshore wind farms in the U.S. with a total installed capacity of more than 4,200 MW (RWE’s pro rata share is about 3,600 MW).

Cranell is the second of RWE’s U.S. onshore wind projects to come online this year with a remarkable safety record, going more than 434,000 work hours without a recordable safety incident. Already in March, Peyton Creek (151 MW), also in Texas, achieved commercial operation after completing construction incident-free.

RWE has, at the moment, almost 1 GW of onshore wind farms under construction in the U.S. The projects are located in Texas, Oklahoma, Ohio and New York State.

RWE constructs, owns and operates some of the highest performing wind, solar and energy storage projects in the U.S. As an established leader in renewables, RWE has recently entered into a joint venture, New England Aqua Ventus, focused on floating offshore wind in the state of Maine.