Salka LLC announced the execution of a purchase and sale agreement for an in-development wind farm in the east San Francisco Bay Area called the Summit Wind Project. The agreement was signed with Castlelake, L.P., a global private investment firm, on behalf of the funds it manages. The project will repower a former Altamont Pass wind farm by replacing 569 one-hundred-kilowatt turbines with 27 modern turbines. The project is expected to generate more than 60 percent of its power during peak hours for Bay Area consumers.
"Salka specializes in delivering innovative solutions to unique development and financing challenges that renewable energy projects face today," Salka CEO Jiddu Tapia said. "Repowering the Altamont Pass wind farm will have a profound impact on the Alameda County economy. Not only will the redevelopment process create local jobs, but the energy produced at the site will provide an affordable, dependable way for the east San Francisco Bay Area to meet its expanding power needs for generations to come."
The Summit repowering project received its conditional use permit in January 2016, and broke ground in December 2016, with completion and operation planned for late 2017 or early 2018. Among the chief benefits of the wind farm is its proximity to base load. Located in the Altamont Pass Wind Resource Area near Livermore, Calif., the planned 55-megawatt wind farm is just 35 miles outside Oakland and 45 miles outside San Francisco. Once completed with 27 state-of-the-art wind turbines, the wind farm will generate more than 60 percent of its power for the Bay Area during peak hours, including the afternoon and high-demand summer months.
Repowering the wind farm will create approximately 100 jobs and produce enough clean energy on average to power about 29,000 homes per year.
The purchase and sale transaction is expected to close in the summer. Salka will continue to manage the development and construction of the project until it achieves commercial operations, at which point funds managed by Castlelake will own and operate the wind farm.
The wind farm is Salka's latest renewable energy project but its first wind farm sale.
About Salka LLC:
Salka LLC (www.salkaenergy.com), founded in 2013, is a renewable energy company focused on creating the energy of tomorrow by developing, constructing, operating and arranging financing for utility scale renewable energy projects today. Over the last decade, the San Diego-based Salka management team has developed, constructed and arranged financing for 11 different utility scale wind farms and solar plants resulting in over 1,000 megawatts of clean renewable energy located in both the United States and Canada.
About Castlelake, L.P.:
Castlelake, L.P., (www.castlelake.com) is a global private investment firm focused on investments in alternative assets, sub-performing loans, dislocated industries and corporate special situations, and is an experienced leader in aircraft ownership and servicing. Castlelake's team comprises more than 100 professionals with deep expertise, located in Minneapolis and London. Castlelake manages private funds with approximately $8.9 billion in assets, on behalf of endowments, foundations, public and private pension plans, private funds, family offices, insurance companies and sovereign wealth funds.
