April 19th, 2024 by WCBC Radio

SAN FRANCISCO — Clearway Energy Group (“Clearway'') announced today that it closed $174 million in construction financing and has begun construction on Dan’s Mountain, a 55 MW wind farm in Allegany County, Maryland.

Dan’s Mountain is the first new onshore wind farm to be constructed in Maryland in nearly ten years and is expected to increase the state’s wind energy generating capacity by nearly 30 percent. The wind farm is a $180 million investment in Western Maryland and is anticipated to generate tens of millions in tax revenue for the local community throughout the project’s life. Part of the project will be constructed on former coal strip mining land, a notable example of the Appalachian region’s opportunity and role in the energy transition.  

“The Dan’s Mountain wind project represents an exciting opportunity to bring the economic, workforce, and low-cost energy opportunities of wind power to Western Maryland,” said Brooks Friedeman, Head and Managing Director of Capital Markets at Clearway. “We’re thrilled to begin construction on a twenty-first-century infrastructure project that will support over 100 local union jobs and become one of the largest taxpayers in Allegany County. We thank our financing partners and the many other project participants who made this project possible.”

The Dan’s Mountain project is fully contracted under a long-term power purchase agreement (PPA) with Maryland-based Constellation to deliver clean, low-cost power to the region. Once completed, Dan’s Mountain will generate enough electricity to power nearly 24,400 homes. 

"The Dan’s Mountain wind project aligns with our mission to be at the forefront of the nation's climate crisis response and we’re proud to team up with Clearway to support the development of additional carbon-free generation in our home state of Maryland," said Jim McHugh, chief commercial officer, Constellation. “We look forward to leveraging this added clean capacity to help our customers deliver on their sustainability and emissions reductions goals.” 

To finance the construction of the wind farm, Clearway assembled a bank consortium consisting of Societe Generale, Natixis, and Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ). The credit facilities provided by these three lenders totaled $174 million, consisting of construction loans and letters of credit.

Clearway also announced the launch of the Dan’s Mountain Community Benefit Fund, which will activate in late 2024 when the project reaches commercial operations. The project’s annual fund will be available to local brick-and-mortar organizations through a grant application cycle. The Community Benefit Fund models Clearway’s successful programs at its Black Rock and Pinnacle wind projects in West Virginia, which together have provided more than $400,000 to local community initiatives since 2011.

The project will be built under a project labor agreement, and approximately 15 percent of total worked hours will be fulfilled by apprentices made possible by the Inflation Reduction Act. The project is expected to create over 100 union construction jobs in partnership with the Western Maryland Building and Construction Trades Council, AFL-CIO.

Construction is being led by White Construction, a MasTec Renewables company, and wind turbines will be supplied by GE Vernova.