So, hey, remember this?
"Clean Line Energy is independent from any existing or planned wind energy generation." Or so they said.
Except now...
Except now...
Clean Line Energy has a brand new project on its website, the Mesa Canyons Wind Farm. It is owned by Clean Line Energy. So now they're suddenly a wind company?
What happened? Transmission business not going so well, Clean Line? Trying to find refuge in your former glory days developing wind? Are you going to "develop" wind projects to serve all your proposed transmission lines now, since you've been so unsuccessful at finding independent customers to buy your transmission capacity? Why not be your own customer? Kismet!
Honestly, the malarkey surrounding Clean Line is getting pretty thick. Grab a shovel and let's get to work...
How did this happen, anyhow?
Last time you looked, Clean Line was developing five transmission projects, right? Three heading east, and two heading west. Clean Line wasn't a wind company.
One of Clean Line's western projects, the Centennial West Clean Line, has been ineffectually spinning its wheels for years. Now, all of a sudden, Clean Line is going to develop a wind farm that will purchase transmission capacity on its Centennial West Clean Line.
Clean Line says:
What happened? Transmission business not going so well, Clean Line? Trying to find refuge in your former glory days developing wind? Are you going to "develop" wind projects to serve all your proposed transmission lines now, since you've been so unsuccessful at finding independent customers to buy your transmission capacity? Why not be your own customer? Kismet!
Honestly, the malarkey surrounding Clean Line is getting pretty thick. Grab a shovel and let's get to work...
How did this happen, anyhow?
Last time you looked, Clean Line was developing five transmission projects, right? Three heading east, and two heading west. Clean Line wasn't a wind company.
One of Clean Line's western projects, the Centennial West Clean Line, has been ineffectually spinning its wheels for years. Now, all of a sudden, Clean Line is going to develop a wind farm that will purchase transmission capacity on its Centennial West Clean Line.
Clean Line says:
Members of the Southern Corona Landowner Association (“Corona Landowners Association”) have executed long-term lease agreements for the development of Mesa Canyons on their properties. The Corona Landowners Association was formed in 2007 to facilitate wind energy development in the area.
It doesn't exactly say they executed a lease agreement with Clean Line. In fact, a little poking around on Google informs that the Corona Landowner Association that was formed a decade ago to market land to wind companies was eventually split into two groups, the Northern group, and the Southern group.
The Northern group signed with Shell Energy. Shell Energy is a partner on the proposed SunZia Transmission line. SunZia has announced an anchor tenant for its transmission capacity, San Francisco-based Pattern Energy. So that bunch has been happily developing their transmission project and wind farm ever since, and they actually got enough work done to qualify for the full production tax credit last year. Of course, not all is rosey. There is much discontent among landowners forced to host the transmission line, because they're not getting the kind of money the landowner group is getting for leasing their land to a wind company. But that's really not of interest to me today.
However, the Southern group signed with a company named FirstWind. FirstWind sold its wind assets to SunEdison in 2015. SunEdison filed for bankruptcy last year and sold their wind assets to NRG. And next, Clean Line is announcing they're a wind company again. But I notice Clean Line doesn't claim to own that lease... and where would Clean Line get money to buy a wind lease from NRG right now anyway? And where would Clean Line get more than a billion dollars to "invest" in building a wind farm? They've burned through hundreds of millions of dollars of investor cash trying to get customers for any one of their un-built transmission ideas. Clean Line has no revenue. So, maybe NRG still owns the lease and there's a deal with Clean Line to "develop" it?
How might that deal have happened? NRG isn't in such great shape itself. NRG fired visionary CEO David Crane in 2016. NRG got a new CEO. And in February of this year, there was another dustup where members of NRG's board were ousted in favor of "activist investors." Who now sits on NRG's board? One is C. John Wilder Jr., described as Executive Chairman of Bluescape. And what is Wilder going to do?
The Northern group signed with Shell Energy. Shell Energy is a partner on the proposed SunZia Transmission line. SunZia has announced an anchor tenant for its transmission capacity, San Francisco-based Pattern Energy. So that bunch has been happily developing their transmission project and wind farm ever since, and they actually got enough work done to qualify for the full production tax credit last year. Of course, not all is rosey. There is much discontent among landowners forced to host the transmission line, because they're not getting the kind of money the landowner group is getting for leasing their land to a wind company. But that's really not of interest to me today.
However, the Southern group signed with a company named FirstWind. FirstWind sold its wind assets to SunEdison in 2015. SunEdison filed for bankruptcy last year and sold their wind assets to NRG. And next, Clean Line is announcing they're a wind company again. But I notice Clean Line doesn't claim to own that lease... and where would Clean Line get money to buy a wind lease from NRG right now anyway? And where would Clean Line get more than a billion dollars to "invest" in building a wind farm? They've burned through hundreds of millions of dollars of investor cash trying to get customers for any one of their un-built transmission ideas. Clean Line has no revenue. So, maybe NRG still owns the lease and there's a deal with Clean Line to "develop" it?
How might that deal have happened? NRG isn't in such great shape itself. NRG fired visionary CEO David Crane in 2016. NRG got a new CEO. And in February of this year, there was another dustup where members of NRG's board were ousted in favor of "activist investors." Who now sits on NRG's board? One is C. John Wilder Jr., described as Executive Chairman of Bluescape. And what is Wilder going to do?
The agreement also establishes a new committee on the board that will review NRG's initiatives, asset portfolio, capital structure and broad strategic plans, and make recommendations on those to the board, according to the SEC filing. Wilder will chair that committee.
And, hey, Mesa Canyons Wind Farm dot com bought their dot com on the day after Wilder took his seat on the board. What a coincidence, right? You can look it up here. Go ahead. I'll wait.
Bluescape... Bluescape... where have I heard that name before? Oh, I know! Bluescape is the company that pumped a $50M investment into Clean Line in 2015.
Even with all that money from Bluescape, Clean Line still hasn't managed to get any of its projects built. Maybe Wilder can save his investment by getting struggling NRG involved? What a great idea! Ya know, if Clean Line can change itself into a wind company, and recognize some revenue, maybe it won't have to shut down while its transmission projects flounder and die... and maybe Clean Line can claw its way out of the toilet and save all the investors some happy cash? Well, unless Clean Line manages to botch up its new wind company as bad as it botched up its transmission business, and they all go down the potty together... Clean Line, Bluescape, and NRG.
Sniff, sniff... hey, do you smell something? It smells like an overflowing outhouse on an August afternoon in here. Gotta go get some fresh air....
Bluescape... Bluescape... where have I heard that name before? Oh, I know! Bluescape is the company that pumped a $50M investment into Clean Line in 2015.
Even with all that money from Bluescape, Clean Line still hasn't managed to get any of its projects built. Maybe Wilder can save his investment by getting struggling NRG involved? What a great idea! Ya know, if Clean Line can change itself into a wind company, and recognize some revenue, maybe it won't have to shut down while its transmission projects flounder and die... and maybe Clean Line can claw its way out of the toilet and save all the investors some happy cash? Well, unless Clean Line manages to botch up its new wind company as bad as it botched up its transmission business, and they all go down the potty together... Clean Line, Bluescape, and NRG.
Sniff, sniff... hey, do you smell something? It smells like an overflowing outhouse on an August afternoon in here. Gotta go get some fresh air....
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