Astoria Energy II will provide more than 1,000 MW of clean power daily to NYC
By Sarah Wolfe
An affiliate of JEMB Realty, a private real estate and energy investment firm, was part of the closing of a $1.5 billion debt and equity financing of Astoria Energy II LLC. The company will construct, own and operate a 550 MW natural gas-fired power plant in Astoria, Queens, in New York City. According to JEMB, Astoria II is the second phase of the Astoria Energy facility, doubling the size of the facility when it goes on-line in 2011.
JEMB Astoria II’s Morris Bailey says the $1.1 billion of debt raised was from “a knowledgeable and sophisticated group of thirteen domestic and international commercial bank lenders,” adding that “the debt was oversubscribed, indicating how positively this project is viewed in the marketplace.”
Beginning in 2011, Astoria Energy II will sell power to New York Power Authority under a 20-year tolling agreement that went into affect in 2008. An affiliate off equity investor SNC-Lavalin Generation will construct the facility and oversight will be provided by fellow investing member GDF Suez North America. One of Energy Investors Funds’ affiliates rounds out the equity investor group.
Once phase two of the Astoria Energy project is complete, the facility will provide more than 1,000 MW of clean power each day to New York City.