ALLETE Subsidiary Acquires Armenia Mountain Project From AES Corp.

ALLETE Clean Energy (ACE) has closed on the purchase of AES Corp.'s 100.5 MW Armenia Mountain wind farm, located near the Pennsylvania and New York border.

ACE acquired the wind farm and a non-controlling interest from a minority shareholder for a total of $108 million, plus the assumption of existing debt.

ACE, a subsidiary of utility ALLETE, exercised an option to purchase the facility on April 1 and signed a purchase agreement with AES Corp. on April 30.

Located in the PJM electricity market near the New York-Pennsylvania border, Armenia Mountain consists of 67 GE turbines installed in 2009. All of the facility's energy output is sold through existing power purchase agreements that extend through 2025. It is the seventh wind facility in ACE’s portfolio.

ACE was established in 2011 to acquire or develop capital projects to create energy solutions by way of wind, solar, biomass, hydro, natural gas, shale resources, clean coal technology and other energy innovations. ALLETE's combined portfolio of operating wind assets controlled by ACE and Minnesota Power now totals more than 1 GW.