Two New Wind Farms Set For Pennsylvania And New Jersey

Wayne, PA — Community Energy, Inc., a leading wind energy marketer and developer, has closed a $50 million investor financing package on two new wind energy generation facilities under construction in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. A group of leading private and public energy finance institutions joined in closing the financing, which will allow the new wind farms to come on-line by the end of this year.

CEI partnered with Central Hudson Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE: CHG) and investment banking firm, Babcock & Brown, as the long-term owners of the wind projects, backed by project financing from a group of public and private funding sources. The Bear Creek wind farm, located near the Pennsylvania Turnpike just south of Wilkes-Barre, PA, received financing from the five regional Pennsylvania sustainable energy funds and the newly authorized Pennsylvania Energy Development Authority. The first-of-its-kind Jersey- Atlantic wind farm on the site of the Atlantic County Utilities Authority ("ACUA") wastewater treatment plant in Atlantic City, New Jersey, received financing from the state's Clean Energy Program and a production grant from the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities.

"This first-rate finance team was able to translate the obvious fuel-free advantages of wind energy into market grade investments ranging from secure debt to long-term equity," said Brent Alderfer, President of CEI. "The exciting part of this deal is it opens the door for broader investor participation in the wind energy market."

The Bear Creek wind farm will install 12 wind turbines each providing 2 megawatts of generation capacity - the largest turbines in use in the U.S. - supplied by Gamesa Eolica of Spain. The five regional sustainable energy funds in Pennsylvania providing financing to the Bear Creek project are the TRF Sustainable Development Fund, which also structured the financing on behalf of the regional funds, the Sustainable Energy Fund of Central Eastern Pennsylvania, the West Penn Power Sustainable Energy Fund, the Penelec Sustainable Energy Fund and the Metropolitan Edison Sustainable Energy Fund.

The Jersey-Atlantic wind farm will install five wind turbines, 1.5 megawatts each, supplied by General Electric. In a pioneering partnership with the ACUA, the wind farm will supply about one-half of the electricity used at the wastewater facility, and will be New Jersey's first commercial scale wind project, and the nation's first coastal wind farm.

SOURCE: Community Energy, Inc.