Meridian sells US solar plant for undisclosed sum
May 16 (BusinessDesk) - Meridian Energy, the country’s largest listed power company, sold its Californian solar plant
for an undisclosed sum, wrapping up its exit from the US energy market.
The Wellington-based company sold its CalRENEW-1 plant to California-based SunEdison, it said in a statement. The plant
was the biggest asset of Meridian’s US subsidiary, which owed the parent $27 million in related party loans as at June
30 last year. Meridian wore a $2 million impairment charge on the loan in the 2013 financial year, having written down
the loan by $27.4 million a year earlier.
“Since a decision was made to exit the US market to focus on our operations in New Zealand and Australia, we have been
working hard to wind up and sell all of the parts of our US subsidiary,” Meridian general manager external relations Guy
Waipara said. “This knowledge about utility-scale solar and its possibilities is reflected in the focus we have on
promoting solar with our customers for residential and commercial use in New Zealand.”
In February, Meridian reported a 6 percent increase in underlying earnings to $83 million, beating the forecast in last
year’s offer document, with high inflows to hydro-lakes swelling its generation in the period.
The company’s instalment receipts, which convert to ordinary shares in May 2015, fell 0.8 percent to $1.20, and have
gained 16 percent this year.
(BusinessDesk)