Commitments and Contingencies |
9 Months Ended |
|---|---|
Sep. 30, 2016 | |
| Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract] | |
| Commitments and Contingencies | Commitments and Contingencies Acquisition Commitment On September 21, 2016, the Company committed to acquire from Pattern Development a 50% interest in Armow, a 179 MW wind project in Ontario, Canada for a purchase price of approximately $133.0 million. The acquisition was completed on October 17, 2016 and was funded from cash available and draws under the Company's Revolving Credit Facility. See Note 17, Subsequent Events of this Form 10-Q for additional information. On June 30, 2016, the Company committed to acquire from Pattern Development an 84% interest in Broadview, a 324 MW wind project and a 99% interest in the associated independent 35-mile 345 kV Western Interconnect transmission line for a purchase price of approximately $269.0 million (Broadview Acquisition), which will be funded at the commencement of commercial operations, currently estimated to occur in the first half of 2017. Letters of Credit Power Sale Agreements The Company owns and operates wind power projects, and has entered into various long-term PSAs that terminate from 2019 to 2039. The terms of these agreements generally provide for the annual delivery of a minimum amount of electricity at fixed prices and in some cases include price escalation over the term of the agreement. Under the terms of these agreements, as of September 30, 2016, the Company issued irrevocable letters of credits to guarantee its performance for the duration of the agreements totaling $107.0 million. Project Finance and Lease Agreements The Company has various project finance and lease agreements which obligate the Company to provide certain reserves to enhance its credit worthiness and facilitate the availability of credit. As of September 30, 2016, the Company issued irrevocable letters of credit totaling $108.8 million to ensure performance under these various project finance and lease agreements, including the Revolving Credit Facility. Contingencies Turbine Operating Warranties and Service Guarantees The Company has various turbine availability warranties and service guarantees from either its turbine manufacturers or service and maintenance providers. The service guarantees, primarily from one provider, are associated with long-term turbine service arrangements which commenced on various dates in 2014 and 2015 for certain wind projects. Pursuant to these warranties and service guarantees, if a turbine operates at less than minimum availability during the warranty period, the turbine manufacturer or service provider is obligated to pay, as liquidated damages, an amount for each percent that the turbine operates below the minimum availability threshold. In addition, if a turbine operates at more than a specified availability during the warranty period, the Company has an obligation to pay a bonus to the turbine manufacturer or service provider. As of September 30, 2016, the Company recorded liabilities of $3.4 million associated with bonuses payable to the turbine manufacturers and service providers. Legal Matters From time to time, the Company has become involved in claims and legal matters arising in the ordinary course of business. Management is not currently aware of any matters that will have a material adverse effect on the financial position, results of operations, or cash flows of the Company. Indemnity The Company provides a variety of indemnities in the ordinary course of business to contractual counterparties and to its lenders and other financial partners. The Company is party to certain indemnities for the benefit of project finance lenders and tax equity partners of certain projects. These consist principally of indemnities that protect the project finance lenders from, among other things, the potential effect of any recapture by the U.S. Department of the Treasury of any amount of the Cash Grants previously received by the projects and eligibility of production tax credits and certain legal matters, limited to the amount of certain related costs and expenses. |