JUNO BEACH, Fla., Nov. 30, 2021 /CNW/ -- NextEra Energy, Inc.
(NYSE: NEE) today announced that a subsidiary of NextEra Energy
Resources, LLC has entered into an agreement to sell a 50%
non-controlling interest in an approximately 2,520 megawatt (MW)
portfolio of long-term contracted renewables assets (the portfolio)
to the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan Board (Ontario Teachers' or
the investor), one of the world's largest pension plans and a
leading infrastructure investor, with approximately C$227.7 billion in net assets. The remaining 50%
interest in the portfolio is under an agreement to be sold by
NextEra Energy Resources to NextEra Energy Partners, LP (NYSE: NEP)
pursuant to a purchase and sale agreement executed on Oct. 21, 2021 between a subsidiary of NEP and a
subsidiary of NextEra Energy Resources.
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The sale proceeds are expected to be redeployed into new wind,
solar and battery storage growth opportunities, including NextEra
Energy Resources' more than 18,000-MW renewables and storage
backlog. This attractive capital recycling opportunity provides
significant value to NextEra Energy Resources and highlights the
value of its renewables development platform. Over the operating
life of the assets in the portfolio, NextEra Energy Resources is
also expected to receive ongoing annual fee income of approximately
$16 million in year one and
escalating thereafter for operations, maintenance and management
services, and the transaction is expected to be accretive to
earnings and generate an overall improvement in net present value
for NextEra Energy shareholders.
"This transaction is expected to generate significant value for
NextEra Energy shareholders," said Jim
Robo, NextEra Energy chairman and CEO. "In addition to
generating attractive ongoing fee income, the sale of 50% of the
portfolio to NextEra Energy Partners and 50% to a high-quality
partner like Ontario Teachers' provides an opportunity to take
advantage of the robust demand for high-quality, long-term
contracted renewable energy assets and efficiently recycle nearly
$3.4 billion in total capital that is
expected to be redeployed into new renewables growth opportunities.
The transactions highlight the value of NextEra Energy Resources'
best-in-class development platform and position us well to continue
to capitalize on the robust renewables development environment that
is driving the clean energy transformation reshaping our
industry."
"We are excited to make this significant investment and to grow
our global portfolio of high-quality renewable energy assets," said
Chris Ireland, managing director,
Greenfield and Renewables at Ontario Teachers'. "NextEra Energy is
one of the world's leading renewable energy companies and they
share our focus on shaping a better future through the development
of sustainable energy. This investment marks the beginning of what
we expect will be a long-term partnership with NextEra Energy."
Portfolio acquisition details
The contracted renewables portfolio of wind, solar and
solar-plus-storage assets has a strong and diverse mix of
investment-grade counterparties and cash available for distribution
(CAFD)- weighted remaining contract life of approximately
19 years. The portfolio to be acquired by the investor
consists of 50% of the indirect membership interests in:
- White Mesa Wind, an approximately 501-MW wind generation
facility in Texas.
- Irish Creek Wind, an
approximately 301-MW wind generation facility in Kansas.
- Hubbard Wind, an approximately 300-MW wind generation
facility in Texas.
- Cool Springs Solar, an approximately 213-MW solar generation
and 40-MW solar storage facility in Georgia.
- Little Blue Wind, an approximately 251-MW wind generation
facility in Nebraska.
- Dodge Flat Solar, an approximately 200-MW solar generation
and 50-MW solar storage facility in Nevada.
- Elora Solar, an approximately
150-MW solar generation facility in Tennessee.
- Quitman II Solar, an approximately 150-MW solar generation
facility in Georgia.
- Fish Springs Ranch Solar, an approximately 100-MW solar
generation and 25-MW solar storage facility in Nevada.
- Minco Wind Energy III, an approximately 107-MW wind
generation facility in Oklahoma.
- Ensign Wind Energy, an approximately 99-MW wind generation
facility in Kansas.
- Borderlands Wind, an approximately 99-MW wind generation
facility in New Mexico.
- Quinebaug Solar, an approximately 49-MW solar generation
facility in Connecticut.
NextEra Energy expects to sell the interests in the assets for a
total consideration of approximately $849
million, subject to working capital and other adjustments,
plus the investor's share of the portfolio's total tax equity
financings, which is estimated to be approximately $866 million at the time of closing.
NextEra Energy expects to close the transaction later this year
or in early 2022, subject to customary closing conditions and
receipt of certain regulatory approvals.
NextEra Energy, Inc.
NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE: NEE) is a leading clean energy
company headquartered in Juno Beach,
Florida. NextEra Energy owns Florida
Power & Light Company, which is the largest vertically
integrated rate-regulated electric utility in the United States as measured by retail
electricity produced and sold, and serves more than 5.6 million
customer accounts, supporting more than 11 million residents across
Florida with clean, reliable and affordable electricity. NextEra
Energy also owns a competitive clean energy business, NextEra
Energy Resources, LLC, which, together with its affiliated
entities, is the world's largest generator of renewable energy from
the wind and sun and a world leader in battery storage. Through its
subsidiaries, NextEra Energy generates clean, emissions-free
electricity from seven commercial nuclear power units in
Florida, New Hampshire and Wisconsin. A Fortune 200 company, NextEra
Energy has been recognized often by third parties for its efforts
in sustainability, corporate responsibility, ethics and compliance,
and diversity. NextEra Energy is ranked No. 1 in the electric and
gas utilities industry on Fortune's 2021 list of "World's Most
Admired Companies," recognized on Fortune's 2021 list of companies
that "Change the World" and received the S&P Global Platts 2020
Energy Transition Award for leadership in environmental, social and
governance. For more information about NextEra Energy
companies, visit these websites: www.NextEraEnergy.com,
www.FPL.com, www.GulfPower.com, www.NextEraEnergyResources.com.
###
Cautionary Statements and Risk Factors That
May Affect Future Results
This news release contains "forward-looking statements" within
the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities
Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements are not
statements of historical facts, but instead represent the current
expectations of NextEra Energy, Inc. (together with its
subsidiaries, NextEra Energy) regarding future operating results
and other future events, many of which, by their nature, are
inherently uncertain and outside of NextEra Energy's
control. Forward-looking statements in this news release
include, among others, statements concerning adjusted earnings per
share expectations and future operating performance, statements
concerning future dividends, and results of acquisitions. In some
cases, you can identify the forward-looking statements by words or
phrases such as "will," "may result," "expect," "anticipate,"
"believe," "intend," "plan," "seek," "potential," "projection,"
"forecast," "predict," "goals," "target," "outlook," "should,"
"would" or similar words or expressions. You should not place
undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which are not a
guarantee of future performance. The future results of NextEra
Energy and its business and financial condition are subject to
risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ
materially from those expressed or implied in the forward-looking
statements, or may require it to limit or eliminate certain
operations. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not
limited to, those discussed in this news release and the
following: effects of extensive regulation of NextEra Energy's
business operations; inability of NextEra Energy to recover in a
timely manner any significant amount of costs, a return on certain
assets or a reasonable return on invested capital through base
rates, cost recovery clauses, other regulatory mechanisms or
otherwise; impact of political, regulatory and economic factors on
regulatory decisions important to NextEra Energy; disallowance of
cost recovery based on a finding of imprudent use of derivative
instruments; effect of any reductions or modifications to, or
elimination of, governmental incentives or policies that support
utility scale renewable energy projects or the imposition of
additional tax laws, policies or assessments on renewable energy;
impact of new or revised laws, regulations, interpretations or
ballot or regulatory initiatives on NextEra Energy; capital
expenditures, increased operating costs and various liabilities
attributable to environmental laws, regulations and other standards
applicable to NextEra Energy; effects on NextEra Energy of federal
or state laws or regulations mandating new or additional limits on
the production of greenhouse gas emissions; exposure of NextEra
Energy to significant and increasing compliance costs and
substantial monetary penalties and other sanctions as a result of
extensive federal regulation of its operations and businesses;
effect on NextEra Energy of changes in tax laws, guidance or
policies as well as in judgments and estimates used to determine
tax-related asset and liability amounts; impact on NextEra Energy
of adverse results of litigation; effect on NextEra Energy of
failure to proceed with projects under development or inability to
complete the construction of (or capital improvements to) electric
generation, transmission and distribution facilities, gas
infrastructure facilities or other facilities on schedule or within
budget; impact on development and operating activities of NextEra
Energy resulting from risks related to project siting, financing,
construction, permitting, governmental approvals and the
negotiation of project development agreements; risks involved in
the operation and maintenance of electric generation, transmission
and distribution facilities, gas infrastructure facilities, retail
gas distribution system in Florida
and other facilities; effect on NextEra Energy of a lack of growth
or slower growth in the number of customers or in customer usage;
impact on NextEra Energy of severe weather and other weather
conditions; threats of terrorism and catastrophic events that could
result from terrorism, cyberattacks or other attempts to disrupt
NextEra Energy's business or the businesses of third parties;
inability to obtain adequate insurance coverage for protection of
NextEra Energy against significant losses and risk that insurance
coverage does not provide protection against all significant
losses; a prolonged period of low gas and oil prices could impact
NextEra Energy's gas infrastructure business and cause NextEra
Energy to delay or cancel certain gas infrastructure projects and
could result in certain projects becoming impaired; risk of
increased operating costs resulting from unfavorable supply costs
necessary to provide full energy and capacity requirement services;
inability or failure to manage properly or hedge effectively the
commodity risk within its portfolio; effect of reductions in the
liquidity of energy markets on NextEra Energy's ability to manage
operational risks; effectiveness of NextEra Energy's risk
management tools associated with its hedging and trading procedures
to protect against significant losses, including the effect of
unforeseen price variances from historical behavior; impact of
unavailability or disruption of power transmission or commodity
transportation facilities on sale and delivery of power or natural
gas; exposure of NextEra Energy to credit and performance risk from
customers, hedging counterparties and vendors; failure of
counterparties to perform under derivative contracts or of
requirement for NextEra Energy to post margin cash collateral under
derivative contracts; failure or breach of NextEra Energy's
information technology systems; risks to NextEra Energy's retail
businesses from compromise of sensitive customer data; losses from
volatility in the market values of derivative instruments and
limited liquidity in over-the-counter markets; impact of negative
publicity; inability to maintain, negotiate or renegotiate
acceptable franchise agreements; occurrence of work strikes or
stoppages and increasing personnel costs; NextEra Energy's ability
to successfully identify, complete and integrate acquisitions,
including the effect of increased competition for acquisitions;
environmental, health and financial risks associated with ownership
and operation of nuclear generation facilities; liability of
NextEra Energy for significant retrospective assessments and/or
retrospective insurance premiums in the event of an incident at
certain nuclear generation facilities; increased operating and
capital expenditures and/or reduced revenues at nuclear generation
facilities resulting from orders or new regulations of the Nuclear
Regulatory Commission; inability to operate any of NextEra Energy's
owned nuclear generation units through the end of their respective
operating licenses; effect of disruptions, uncertainty or
volatility in the credit and capital markets or actions by third
parties in connection with project-specific or other financing
arrangements on NextEra Energy's ability to fund its liquidity and
capital needs and meet its growth objectives; inability to maintain
current credit ratings; impairment of liquidity from inability of
credit providers to fund their credit commitments or to maintain
their current credit ratings; poor market performance and other
economic factors that could affect NextEra Energy's defined benefit
pension plan's funded status; poor market performance and other
risks to the asset values of nuclear decommissioning funds; changes
in market value and other risks to certain of NextEra Energy's
investments; effect of inability of NextEra Energy subsidiaries to
pay upstream dividends or repay funds to NextEra Energy or of
NextEra Energy's performance under guarantees of subsidiary
obligations on NextEra Energy's ability to meet its financial
obligations and to pay dividends on its common stock; the fact that
the amount and timing of dividends payable on NextEra Energy's
common stock, as well as the dividend policy approved by NextEra
Energy's board of directors from time to time, and changes to that
policy, are within the sole discretion of NextEra Energy's board of
directors and, if declared and paid, dividends may be in amounts
that are less than might be expected by shareholders; NextEra
Energy Partners, LP's inability to access sources of capital on
commercially reasonable terms could have an effect on its ability
to consummate future acquisitions and on the value of NextEra
Energy's limited partner interest in NextEra Energy Operating
Partners, LP; effects of disruptions, uncertainty or volatility in
the credit and capital markets on the market price of NextEra
Energy's common stock; and the ultimate severity and duration of
public health crises, epidemics and pandemics, including the
coronavirus pandemic, and its effects on NextEra Energy's or FPL's
businesses. NextEra Energy discusses these and other risks and
uncertainties in its annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended
December 31, 2020 and other
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filings, and this news
release should be read in conjunction with such SEC
filings. The forward-looking statements made in this news
release are made only as of the date of this news release and
NextEra Energy undertakes no obligation to update any
forward-looking statements.
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