First Wind, a leading U.S.-based renewable energy company, for the third straight year has partnered with teachers in local classrooms in communities that host First Wind projects to make contributions toward local education projects. Through the DonorsChoose program, First Wind supports teachers and their innovative classroom projects around the country.

“First Wind is committed to being an active community member and we are glad to again help support innovative and engaging educational projects in our host communities”

In May of 2012, First Wind began a strategic partnership with DonorsChoose.org in order to enhance the company’s community giving in locations where First Wind develops and operates renewable energy facilities. For the past three years, the program has benefitted many local classrooms and students.

In its third full year, First Wind contributed $15,000 to fund 52 projects at 36 schools, which reached and positively impacted nearly 4,400 students. For example, First Wind donated funds to multiple projects to supply basic common core learning materials and hands-on learning kits. First Wind also donated funds to help classrooms purchase books to implement STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) programs. These supplies will be used for years to come, and will support future classrooms and students as well.

“First Wind is committed to being an active community member and we are glad to again help support innovative and engaging educational projects in our host communities,” said Carol Grant, senior vice president of External Affairs. “This program starts with the good idea of a teacher in one of our communities. Our contribution is to support that idea and help bring it to life. We’re glad to have a small part in helping these teachers and their students.”

First Wind has donated to classrooms in or near the communities where it has projects, including Mars Hill, Maine; Rosalia, Washington; Lyndonville, Vermont; Milford, Utah; Kahuku, Hawaii and many other locations.

Some examples of supported projects include:

• A donation to be used to purchase hands-on activities for STEM learning at Kihei Public Charter K-12 School in Hawaii.
• A donation to Fort Street Elementary School in Mars Hill, Maine to help purchase books to improve reading skills.
• At Lyndon Town Elementary School in Vermont, First Wind funded a project request to provide materials for engineering projects in science class.
• At Jefferson Elementary School in Pullman, Washington, First Wind supported a teacher who requested headphones so students could listen and read along to stories.
• At Milford High School in Utah, a teacher requested funding to build a classroom library to enhance reading skills. First Wind’s contribution helped purchase 45 books of varying reading levels.

First Wind is especially proud to support school projects that involve renewable energy education. One project request at Ella Burr Elementary School in Lincoln, Maine came from Mrs. Josephine Gray who was hoping to purchase alternative energy science kits to better help her fourth graders learn through hands-on experiments. The project was fully funded and the students cannot wait to receive the materials.

“Dear First Wind, we can’t possibly thank you enough for funding our project! How I wish you could be there when the kids get to see all of the awesome, hands-on materials they will now have access to thanks to your generosity! These resources will allow my students to build their own knowledge, and experiment with concepts they have learned about. This will be so much more meaningful than simply watching videos of others performing experiments. Three cheers for you, for them, and for our future!” wrote Mrs. Gray.

Visit First Wind’s DonorsChoose.org page:
http://www.donorschoose.org/Firstwind2014

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Following the transaction with J.P. Morgan, First Wind will continue to operate and manage the 105 MW Palouse Wind project (pictured here), which generates enough clean energy to power the equivalent of as many as 30,000 homes in Eastern Washington.

Institutional investors advised by J.P. Morgan Asset Management recently made a majority investment in two of First Wind’s projects.  The investments include the Palouse Wind project in Washington and the Route 66 Wind project in Texas, which is currently under construction.  First Wind will operate and manage both projects as the company continues to expand its third-party operations group.

“These are high quality projects, exhibiting solid financial and operating fundamentals, that we anticipate will produce stable and growing yields and total returns for our investors over the long term,” says Matt LeBlanc, CIO of OECD Infrastructure at J.P. Morgan.

“Attracting strong investors reinforces that First Wind is building high-value, financially viable projects.  This transaction also provides First Wind capital to continue our efforts to develop and build new clean energy projects,” says Paul Gaynor, CEO of First Wind.

As the largest renewable energy facility in Whitman County, the Palouse Wind project features 58 Vestas V100-1.8 MW turbines located near the town of Oakesdale, Wash. The project achieved commercial operations in December 2012, and the wind power from the project interconnects to the Avista 230kV Benewah-to-Shawnee transmission line.  Palouse Wind harnesses enough wind to generate up to 105 MW for Whitman County and much of the Northwest—enough to provide power for the equivalent of as many as 30,000 homes in Eastern Washington.  The energy company Avista is purchasing the power and delivering it to homes and businesses in the region.

Route 66 is a 150 MW wind project under construction in Armstrong and Carson Counties near Amarillo, Texas.  Construction began in late 2013 and is slated to be completed in 2015.  Once complete, the project will be comprised of 75 Vestas V110 turbines with a capacity of 2 MW each that will deliver clean energy to the ERCOT (Electric Reliability Council of Texas) power markets through the new CREZ (Competitive Renewable Energy Zone) transmission system.  The project is expected to power about 49,000 Texas homes annually.

First Wind
www.firstwind.com

J.P. Morgan Asset Management
www.jpmorgan.com

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As First Wind’s first renewable energy project in Utah, the project has produced cost-competitive clean energy since 2009.

First Wind, an independent U.S.-based renewable energy company, recently commemorated the fifth anniversary of successful commercial operations of its Milford Wind I project, which spans Beaver and Millard Counties, Utah.  Stretching through the desert in southern Utah just outside the town of Milford, in Beaver County, Milford Wind I consists of 97 operating wind turbines with a capacity of 204 megawatts (MW).  The project was expanded in 2011 to add an additional 68 turbines and 102 MW of capacity.  Combined, the two phases of the project have produced more than 2,650,000 megawatt-hours (MWh) of energy since the first project began commercial operations on November 16, 2009.

The power for the Milford Wind Corridor is sold to the Southern California Public Power Authority (SCPPA), with the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) as its largest customer.  As the largest operational utility-scale wind farm in the state of Utah, the combined 306 MW Milford Wind project provides power for the equivalent of about 60,000 homes.  The power generated by the wind project is transmitted through a First Wind-built 88 mile transmission line, which connects with the Intermountain Power Plant in Delta and the Southern Transmission System, which brings the electricity into the Los Angeles metro area.

The project is located on land owned by School and Institutional Trust Lands Administration (SITLA) of Utah, the federal Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and some private landowners.  The Milford project was the first utility-scale wind farm built on federal land.

Below is a summary of some of the notable milestones achieved during the five years of successful commercial operations at Milford Wind:

Operation and Environmental Highlights

·         Since they went online, the combined Milford Wind projects have generated more than 2,650,000 (MWh) of clean, renewable electricity.

·         The Milford Wind project avoids over 1,780,465 tons of CO2 emissions that would result from conventional regional generation sources in a typical year.

·         A similar amount of energy produced at a coal-fired power plant would have used nearly 1.4 million tons of coal.

Economic and Community Benefits

·         Milford Wind I created more than 250 development and construction jobs, and First Wind directly spent about $30 million with Utah-based businesses developing and building the first phase of the project and another $56 million in indirect spending such as wages, taxes and more.

·         The combined 306 MW facility supports 28 full-time, on-site operations and maintenance jobs.  Collectively, the Milford Wind project represents $85.5 million in investments in Utah businesses, labor and subcontractors.

·         First Wind is an important and active member of the Milford community.  First Wind annually funds the Milford Fourth of July fireworks and supports a number of organizations.

·         The pilot scholarship for the First Wind Scholars program was launched in Beaver County, and continues to fund scholarships for local students in both Beaver and Millard counties.

First Wind is also developing eleven utility-scale solar projects with a combined capacity of 340 MW in Beaver and Iron counties that are expected to generate clean energy to power 100,000 Utah homes.

First Wind
www.firstwind.com

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