NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Alcoa (NYSE:AA) announced today that it has reached an agreement to sell its 351-megawatt Tapoco Hydroelectric Project to Brookfield Renewable Energy Partners.
Tapoco is a four-station hydroelectric project located on the Little Tennessee and Cheoah Rivers in eastern Tennessee and western North Carolina, and is operated by Alcoa Power Generating Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Alcoa. The transaction will include the four generating stations and dams, 86 miles of transmission line, and about 14,500 acres of land associated with and surrounding Tapoco.
Alcoa anticipates receiving proceeds of $600 million from the sale upon closing, which is subject to customary federal and state regulatory approvals. The transaction, which involves non-core assets, is expected to close by year-end.
Tapoco is licensed by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC).
Tapoco was originally developed by Alcoa to provide power for its aluminum smelting and rolling mill operations in Alcoa, Tenn. The four dams – Calderwood, Santeetlah, Chilhowee and Cheoah – came into service between 1919 and 1957.
J.P. Morgan advised Alcoa on the transaction.
About Alcoa
Alcoa is the world’s leading producer of primary
aluminum, fabricated aluminum and alumina. In addition to inventing the
modern-day aluminum industry, Alcoa innovation has been behind major
milestones in the aerospace, automotive, packaging, building and
construction, commercial transportation, consumer electronics and
industrial markets over the past 120 years. Among the solutions Alcoa
markets are flat-rolled products, hard alloy extrusions, and forgings,
as well as Alcoa® wheels, fastening systems, precision and investment
castings, and building systems in addition to its expertise in other
light metals such as titanium and nickel-based super alloys.
Sustainability is an integral part of Alcoa’s operating practices and
the product design and engineering it provides to customers. Alcoa has
been a member of the Dow Jones Sustainability Index for ten consecutive
years and approximately 75 percent of all of the aluminum ever produced
since 1888 is still in active use today. Alcoa employs approximately
61,000 people in 31 countries across the world. More information can be
found at www.alcoa.com.
About Brookfield Renewable Energy Partners
Brookfield
Renewable Energy Partners operates one of the largest
publicly-traded, pure-play renewable power platforms globally. Its
portfolio is primarily hydroelectric and totals approximately 5,000
megawatts of installed capacity. Diversified across 67 river systems and
10 power markets in Canada, the United States and Brazil, the portfolio
generates enough electricity from renewable resources to power two
million homes on average each year.
Forward-Looking Statements
This release contains statements
that relate to future events and expectations and as such constitute
forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities
Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements include those
containing such words as “anticipate,” “expect,” “plan,” “should,”
“will,” or other words of similar meaning. All statements that reflect
Alcoa’s expectations, assumptions or projections about the future other
than statements of historical fact are forward-looking statements,
including, without limitation, forecasts concerning growth opportunities
for aluminum and Alcoa’s core businesses, other trend projections,
targeted financial results or operating performance, and statements
about Alcoa’s strategies, objectives, goals, targets, outlook, and
business and financial prospects. Forward-looking statements are subject
to a number of known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors
and are not guarantees of future performance. Important factors that
could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or
implied in the forward-looking statements include: (a) material adverse
changes in aluminum industry conditions, including global supply and
demand conditions and fluctuations in London Metal Exchange-based prices
for primary aluminum, alumina, and other products; (b) deterioration in
global economic and financial market conditions generally;
(c) unfavorable changes in the markets served by Alcoa; (d) the impact
of changes in foreign currency exchange rates on costs and results;
(e) increases in energy costs or the unavailability or interruption of
energy supplies; (f) Alcoa’s inability to achieve the level of revenue
growth, cash generation, cost savings, improvement in profitability and
margins, fiscal discipline, or strengthening of competitiveness and
operations anticipated from its restructuring programs, productivity
improvement, cash sustainability, and other initiatives; (g) Alcoa’s
inability to complete or to realize expected benefits from its growth
projects or its acquisition or divestiture of assets or businesses,
including the sale of the Tapoco hydroelectric project, as planned and
by targeted completion dates, whether due to an inability to obtain
regulatory approvals, unforeseen events, or other reasons; and (h) the
other risk factors summarized in Alcoa’s Form 10-K for the year ended
December 31, 2011 and other reports filed with the Securities and
Exchange Commission. Alcoa disclaims any obligation to update publicly
any forward-looking statements, whether in response to new information,
future events or otherwise, except as required by applicable law.