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Vancouver BC (SPX) Nov 11, 2007 Plutonic Power Corporation and a Canadian affiliate of GE Energy Financial Services, a unit of GE, has announced that a $470 million senior secured credit facility for the Toba Montrose General Partnership has been closed with a syndicate of financial institutions. This complements the $190 million in equity and other financial instruments that closed last week and completes funding for construction of the 196-megawatt East Toba River/Montrose Creek run-of-river hydroelectric generating facilities, 190 kilometers northwest of Vancouver at the headwaters of the Toba Inlet north of Powell River. The project's credit facilities were co-arranged by The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company and GE Capital Markets (Canada) Ltd. (a Canadian affiliate of GE Energy Financial Services) which together led a syndicate of lenders to provide 38-year senior secured credit facilities with tenors corresponding to the three-year construction period and 35-year term of the project's Electricity Purchase Agreement with the British Columbia Hydro and Power Authority, a provincial Crown corporation and one of the largest electric utilities in Canada. The lending syndicate consists of an affiliate of GE Energy Financial Services, Manulife, Sun Life Assurance Company of Canada, The Canada Life Assurance Company, Allied Irish Banks, p.l.c. and Industrial Alliance Insurance and Financial Services Inc. "We are grateful to our lenders, First Nations partners and community members, without whose support we would never have seen the Green Power Corridor become a reality," said Plutonic Power's Vice-Chairman and CEO, Donald McInnes. "Their advocacy is the foundation of one of the most significant project financing deals in the history of British Columbia, one which will help create a legacy of clean green power for generations." Once completed, the East Toba River/Montrose Creek run-of-river hydroelectric project will potentially displace an estimated 455,000 tonnes of greenhouse gases (GHG) annually. This is the equivalent of taking about 80,000 cars off the road per year or planting about 60,000 hectares of trees. Commercial operation of the Toba site is expected by mid-2010 and Montrose by late 2010. Plutonic Power is an emerging renewable energy producer in British Columbia. Its proposed 34 development projects have a design capacity of approximately 1,700 MW with the potential to generate approximately 5,500 GWh per annum of green energy, enough energy to meet the annual needs of about 550,000 homes. Included in the 34 projects is the creation of the Green Power Corridor, a series of non-storage hydroelectric projects in southwestern BC, which hold the potential to catapult British Columbia to the forefront of green energy generation in North America. The completion of the Green Power Corridor could create over 4,500 person years of construction employment. Plutonic is committed to becoming a leading supplier of green energy in British Columbia by working with First Nations, stakeholder groups and local communities in the development of all its run-of-river projects. This commitment will help British Columbia realize its goal of becoming electricity self-sufficient by 2016 and meet demand utilizing 90% clean domestic generation sources. Community Email This Article Comment On This Article Related Links GE Energy Financial Services Plutonic Power Corporation Water News - Science, Technology and Politics
Blow to Bush as Congress overturns veto for first time
Washington (AFP) Nov 8, 2007The US Congress on Thursday overturned a veto by President George W. Bush for the first time in his presidency, giving approval to a bill on river and waterway projects. |
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