An investment affiliate of Starwood Energy Group Global LLC, an energy infrastructure investment firm, has acquired a partial ownership interest in the 100 MW Gainesville Renewable Energy Center (GREC) from Tyr Energy Inc. on December 30, 2011. The total cost of the facility is approximately $500 million.

GREC is a 100 MW biomass power plant. It will sell energy, capacity and environmental attributes to the City of Gainesville and Gainesville Regional Utilities under a 30-year power purchase agreement. Construction began in March 2011 and it is expected to generate power by 2013.

GREC closed on financing in June 2011 with a consortium of investors led by Energy Management Inc.  Construction debt, which will be converted to term debt, is being provided through a commercial bank facility led by The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ Ltd. and a group of seven European and US banks.  Equity financing for approximately 40 percent of the ownership interests is provided by Starwood Energy affiliates and its investors.

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