National Wind Watch: Wind Energy News » Deal reached on lead bank for Cape Wind

Cape Wind has announced it has finalized a deal with Japanese banking giant Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ (BTMU) to provide debt for the project.

The project, which is expected to cost $2.6 billion, will be financed through a combination of equity from investors and loans from banks and other institutions.

In a statement released today Cape Wind officials said they have signed a term sheet with BTMU as its lead coordinating arranger of the commercial bank portion of the debt.

“We have been impressed with Cape Wind’s dedication and perseverance in moving this clean energy project through the regulatory and development process, and are glad to be able to assist this financing.” BTMU’s project finance director, Takaki Sakai said in the statement.

The bank is expected to arrange between $1.8 billion and $2 billion in loans for the project and to convert a federal production tax credit into cash.

A lead bank typically recruits other banks or institutions that will issue bonds for a project, Edward Zaelke, a board member with the American Wind Energy Association and co-chairman of the project finance practice at Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP, told the Times when Cape Wind President Jim Gordon first indicated a month ago that BTMU would be the lead bank.

Cape Wind officials have said they expect to begin construction this year, which is necessary for the company to benefit from the federal production tax credit that expires Dec. 31.

The debt side of the equation is only part of how Cape Wind plans to pay for constructing 130 wind turbines in the Nantucket Sound.

The company needs at least an additional $600 million in equity. Siemens Energy Inc., which is expected to build Cape Wind’s turbines, may provide $100 million for the project and the wind energy developer is seeking a loan guarantee of about $350 million from the United States Department of Energy, according to a source with knowledge of the application.

Among the comments received on the loan application was a scathing letter from officials with Mass Tank Sales Corp., which was originally expected to help build the foundations and towers for Cape Wind.

That deal fell apart over disagreements about whether Mass Tank planned to open a manufacturing facility and the Middleboro-based company’s contention that Cape Wind had used Mass Tank’s local roots to curry favor for the project.

Opponents of Cape Wind, including Republican members of Congress from other states, continue to argue that the project is a bad investment and faces multiple legal challenges.