Merigomish – The company that wants to construct a windfarm in the Merigomish area may receive a financial boost that will allow them to proceed with the project.
It was announced this week that renewable energy businessman Manuel Jove, president of Spanish company Inveravante, has signed a proposal with Halifax-based Shear Wind Inc. to buy 62 per cent of the company for $27 million.
The deal still requires approval from a majority of Shear Wind shareholders and must pass other regulatory hurdles before it closes on Oct. 30.
Ian Tillard, Chief Operating Officer for Shear Wind, says the company was hit hard by the recession last year and has since been shopping around for investors.
“It’s been a pretty bleak world for people in the wind business since the economic turmoil hit a year ago,” Tillard said. “We’ve spent our time on the Merigomish project doing pre-construction, environmental studies, the on the ground stuff, all the while looking for investors for our projects.”
Inveravante is “by far the best fit” for Shear Wind, Tillard said. This marks the Spanish company’s first investment in North America, an area it has been looking to expand into.
“This is a company that brings good experience with them and really brings a different outlook, both financially and in terms of technology,” said Tillard.
The Spanish utility conglomerate will pay nearly 28 cents a share for almost 96,500,000 shares of Shear Wind stock that will be issued to the Inveravante subsidiary Genera Avante Holdings Canada Inc.
Subject to regulatory approval, Shear Wind will pay a finder’s fee of $1.75 million to STS Capital Partners.
Tillard says a decision on where the capital investment will be used will be made in the near future. Founded in 2005, Shear Wind has projects in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Alberta and will assess all of its developments before deciding where to put the infusion of funds.
But Tillard says the company remains committed to hitting the targets of its deal for the proposed $150 million wind turbine park near Merigomish. Shear Wind signed a deal with Nova Scotia Power last year to sell 60 megawatts of electricity to the utility – enough to power 17,500 homes – beginning late this year. That has since been delayed to 2011.
The project must be in place by March 2011 in order to take advantage of federal incentives for wind energy.