Biomass plant partner sells its interest
This press release in Marketwatch:
 GREENWICH, Conn., Jan. 17, 2012 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ — An investment affiliate of Starwood Energy Group Global, LLC (“Starwood Energy”), an energy infrastructure investment firm, has acquired a partial ownership interest in the Gainesville Renewable Energy Center (“GREC”) from Tyr Energy, Inc. GREC is a 100 MW biomass power plant currently under construction in Gainesville, Florida. The acquisition was signed and closed on December 30, 2011. Read more
If you read the rest, where it gets all rosy and fuzzy about how wonderful the plant is for Gainesville, remember that this is a PRESS RELEASE It is not news in the sense that an investigative report is. But I have to wonder why, on the last day of 2011, Tyr Energy decided to get out of such a wonderful deal. The plant is in the middle of construction and has not burned the first twig, and these guys, presumably, took a profit. And the buyer, Starwood Energy, thinks this is an even better deal than it was when it was still a heavily redacted contract that the public knew nothing about.
Where are all these fabulous profits coming from? The public! I guess that’s why it’s a Public Utility: it burns ratepayers.
Tyr Energy was formed in 2002 to provide comprehensive management services to financial owners of distressed power assets. Tyr is a subsidiary of a public company.
Tyr now appears to have bailed out of American Renewables/GREC project.
If this is so, American Renewables (whose only known income stream is more than $3 billion to be paid by GRU ratepayers if the GRU-GREC contract is not declared void by a court) is now owned by four non-public companies whose operations are opaque to the outside world.
Tyr’s successor is said to be Starwood Energy Group Global, L.L.C. (“Starwood Energy”), a private equity investment firm, based in Greenwich, CT, that specializes in energy infrastructure investments. It would appear that Starwood now controls 40 percent of American Renewables.
Energy Management Inc (EMI), presumably a 20 percent owner of American Renewables, is a Boston-based energy company that sold all of its plants by 2001.
BayCorp Holdings, Ltd., presumably a 20 percent owner of American Renewables, operates as an unregulated holding company.
Fagan, Inc., presumably a 20 percent owner of American Renewables, is 100 percent family owned.
These four private, opaque entities expect to reap profits from GRU customers from a more than $100 million a year income stream that stretches out over 30 years under the terms of a GRU-GREC power purchase agreement, minus overseas financing costs of 14 percent to 15 percent per year (according to GRU-GREC co-lead negotiator Ed Regan).
The GRU-GREC contract — many important documents related to which GRU executives continue to keep secret from the public in contravention of the Florida Public Records law — allows GRU executives, without city commission approval, to make “equitable” upward adjustments throughout the life of the contract. Ten months ago one such upward adjustment — amounting to more than $100 million in increased payments by GRU customers over the life of the GRU-GREC contract — was signed off on by GRU executive Jennifer Hunt. Thus far citizen questions about this adjustment have been ignored by the Gainesville City Commission.
Is there something wrong with this picture?
Not according to five members of the Gainesville City Commission who have contributed money to try to assure the election my District 1 City Commission opponents, both of whom agree with their city commission sponsors.
Do the citizens of Gainesville agree?
We’ll see.
1Interesting that Bradford T. Nordholm, current CEO & Managing Director of Starwood Energy Group Global, LLC, is the former Co-founder and CEO of Tyr Energy.
2