Clearway Energy, Inc. Signs Binding Agreement to Acquire 137 MW Wind Project

PRINCETON, N.J., Nov. 25, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Clearway Energy, Inc. (NYSE: CWEN, CWEN.A) (“Company”) today announced that it has entered into a binding agreement to acquire the operational Tuolumne Wind Project from Turlock Irrigation District.

Tuolumne Wind Project is a 137 MW wind project located in Klickitat County, WA that achieved commercial operations in 2009. The project will sell power under a new PPA with Turlock Irrigation District, an investment-grade regulated entity, with an initial contract term of 15 years to 2040. In conjunction with the acquisition, the Company also has received from Turlock Irrigation District a contractual extension option to enable a potential future repowering of the project.

After factoring in estimated closing adjustments and new non-recourse project-level debt, the Company expects its total long-term corporate capital commitment to acquire the project to be approximately $70-75 million, which the Company expects to fund with existing sources of liquidity. Based on current expected terms and conditions of the new non-recourse financing, the acquisition is expected to provide incremental annual levered asset CAFD on a five-year average basis of approximately $9 million beginning January 1, 2026. The Company expects the transaction to close in the first quarter of 2025, after which its targeted contribution to fiscal year 2025 results will be communicated.

“Clearway continues its successful track record of executing accretive, third-party acquisitions. We look forward to providing clean, reliable electricity to Turlock Irrigation District and its customers for years to come. Additionally, this transaction, along with other recent investments, underscores Clearway’s expanding presence in Western states alongside our historical core in California, contributing further to our strong incumbency in these attractive markets for clean power,” said Craig Cornelius, Clearway Energy, Inc.’s President and Chief Executive Officer. “We are also pleased to note that this acquisition is the next step in our path to meeting our long-term financial objectives, including our goal to deliver the midpoint or better of $2.40 to $2.60 in CAFD per share in 2027.”

About Clearway Energy, Inc.

Clearway Energy, Inc. is one of the largest owners of clean energy generation assets in the US and is leading the transition to a world powered by clean energy. Our portfolio comprises approximately 11.7 GW of gross capacity in 26 states, including 9 GW of wind, solar, and battery energy storage and over 2.7 GW of conventional dispatchable power capacity providing critical grid reliability services. Through our diversified and primarily contracted clean energy portfolio, Clearway Energy endeavors to provide our investors with stable and growing dividend income. Clearway Energy, Inc.’s Class C and Class A common stock are traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbols CWEN and CWEN.A, respectively. Clearway Energy, Inc. is sponsored by our controlling investor, Clearway Energy Group LLC. For more information, visit investor.clearwayenergy.com.

Safe Harbor Disclosure

This news release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Such forward-looking statements are subject to certain risks, uncertainties and assumptions, and typically can be identified by the use of words such as “expect,” “estimate,” "target," “anticipate,” “forecast,” “plan,” “outlook,” “believe” and similar terms. Such forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding, Clearway Energy, Inc.’s (the “Company’s”) dividend expectations and its operations, its facilities and its financial results, statements regarding the likelihood, terms, timing and/or consummation of the transactions described above, the potential benefits, opportunities, and results with respect to the transactions, including the Company’s future relationship and arrangements with Global Infrastructure Partners, TotalEnergies, and Clearway Energy Group (collectively and together with their affiliates, “Related Persons”), as well as the Company's Net Income, Adjusted EBITDA, Cash from Operating Activities, Cash Available for Distribution, the Company’s future revenues, income, indebtedness, capital structure, strategy, plans, expectations, objectives, projected financial performance and/or business results and other future events, and views of economic and market conditions.

Although the Company believes that the expectations are reasonable at this time, it can give no assurance that these expectations will prove to be correct, and actual results may vary materially. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated above include, among others, the Company's ability to maintain and grow its quarterly dividend, impacts related to COVID-19 (including any variant of the virus) or any other pandemic, risks relating to the Company's relationships with its sponsors, the failure to identify, execute or successfully implement acquisitions or dispositions (including receipt of third party consents and regulatory approvals), risks related to hazards customary in the power industry, weather conditions, including wind and solar performance, the Company’s ability to operate its businesses efficiently, manage maintenance capital expenditures and costs effectively, and generate earnings and cash flows from its asset-based businesses in relation to its debt and other obligations, the willingness and ability of counterparties to the Company’s offtake agreements to fulfill their obligations under such agreements, the Company's ability to enter into new contracts as existing contracts expire, changes in government regulations, operating and financial restrictions placed on the Company that are contained in the project-level debt facilities and other agreements of the Company and its subsidiaries, and cyber terrorism and inadequate cybersecurity. Furthermore, any dividends are subject to available capital, market conditions, and compliance with associated laws and regulations.

The Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. The Cash Available for Distribution are estimates as of today’s date and are based on assumptions believed to be reasonable as of this date. The Company expressly disclaims any current intention to update such guidance. The foregoing review of factors that could cause the Company's actual results to differ materially from those contemplated in the forward-looking statements included in this news release should be considered in connection with information regarding risks and uncertainties that may affect the Company's future results included in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission at www.sec.gov. In addition, the Company makes available free of charge at www.clearwayenergy.com, copies of materials it files with, or furnishes to, the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Contacts:

Appendix Table A-1: Adjusted EBITDA and Cash Available for Distribution Reconciliation

The following table summarizes the calculation of Estimated Cash Available for Distribution and provides a reconciliation to Net Income/(Loss):

Non-GAAP Financial Information

EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA

EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA, and Cash Available for Distribution (CAFD) are non-GAAP financial measures. These measurements are not recognized in accordance with GAAP and should not be viewed as an alternative to GAAP measures of performance. The presentation of non-GAAP financial measures should not be construed as an inference that Clearway Energy’s future results will be unaffected by unusual or non-recurring items.

EBITDA represents net income before interest (including loss on debt extinguishment), taxes, depreciation and amortization. EBITDA is presented because Clearway Energy considers it an important supplemental measure of its performance and believes debt and equity holders frequently use EBITDA to analyze operating performance and debt service capacity. EBITDA has limitations as an analytical tool, and you should not consider it in isolation, or as a substitute for analysis of our operating results as reported under GAAP. Some of these limitations are:

• EBITDA does not reflect cash expenditures, or future requirements for capital expenditures, or contractual commitments;
• EBITDA does not reflect changes in, or cash requirements for, working capital needs;
• EBITDA does not reflect the significant interest expense, or the cash requirements necessary to service interest or principal payments, on debt or cash income tax payments;
• Although depreciation and amortization are non-cash charges, the assets being depreciated and amortized will often have to be replaced in the future, and EBITDA does not reflect any cash requirements for such replacements; and
• Other companies in this industry may calculate EBITDA differently than Clearway Energy does, limiting its usefulness as a comparative measure.

Because of these limitations, EBITDA should not be considered as a measure of discretionary cash available to use to invest in the growth of Clearway Energy’s business. Clearway Energy compensates for these limitations by relying primarily on our GAAP results and using EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA only supplementally. See the statements of cash flow included in the financial statements that are a part of this news release.

Adjusted EBITDA is presented as a further supplemental measure of operating performance. Adjusted EBITDA represents EBITDA adjusted for mark-to-market gains or losses, non-cash equity compensation expense, asset write offs and impairments; and factors which we do not consider indicative of future operating performance such as transition and integration related costs. The reader is encouraged to evaluate each adjustment and the reasons Clearway Energy considers it appropriate for supplemental analysis. As an analytical tool, Adjusted EBITDA is subject to all of the limitations applicable to EBITDA. In addition, in evaluating Adjusted EBITDA, the reader should be aware that in the future Clearway Energy may incur expenses similar to the adjustments in this news release.

Management believes Adjusted EBITDA is useful to investors and other users of our financial statements in evaluating our operating performance because it provides them with an additional tool to compare business performance across companies and across periods. This measure is widely used by investors to measure a company’s operating performance without regard to items such as interest expense, taxes, depreciation and amortization, which can vary substantially from company to company depending upon accounting methods and book value of assets, capital structure and the method by which assets were acquired.

Additionally, Management believes that investors commonly adjust EBITDA information to eliminate the effect of restructuring and other expenses, which vary widely from company to company and impair comparability. As we define it, Adjusted EBITDA represents EBITDA adjusted for the effects of impairment losses, gains or losses on sales, non-cash equity compensation expense, dispositions or retirements of assets, any mark-to-market gains or losses from accounting for derivatives, adjustments to exclude gains or losses on the repurchase, modification or extinguishment of debt, and any extraordinary, unusual or non-recurring items plus adjustments to reflect the Adjusted EBITDA from our unconsolidated investments. We adjust for these items in our Adjusted EBITDA as our management believes that these items would distort their ability to efficiently view and assess our core operating trends.

In summary, our management uses Adjusted EBITDA as a measure of operating performance to assist in comparing performance from period to period on a consistent basis and to readily view operating trends, as a measure for planning and forecasting overall expectations and for evaluating actual results against such expectations, and in communications with our Board of Directors, shareholders, creditors, analysts and investors concerning our financial performance.

Cash Available for Distribution

A non-GAAP measure, Cash Available for Distribution is defined as of September 30, 2024 as Adjusted EBITDA plus cash distributions/return of investment from unconsolidated affiliates, cash receipts from notes receivable, cash distributions from noncontrolling interests, adjustments to reflect sales-type lease cash payments and payments for lease expenses, less cash distributions to noncontrolling interests, maintenance capital expenditures, pro-rata Adjusted EBITDA from unconsolidated affiliates, cash interest paid, income taxes paid, principal amortization of indebtedness, changes in prepaid and accrued capacity payments, and adjusted for development expenses. Management believes CAFD is a relevant supplemental measure of the Company’s ability to earn and distribute cash returns to investors.

We believe CAFD is useful to investors in evaluating our operating performance because securities analysts and other interested parties use such calculations as a measure of our ability to make quarterly distributions. In addition, CAFD is used by our management team for determining future acquisitions and managing our growth. The GAAP measure most directly comparable to CAFD is cash provided by operating activities.

However, CAFD has limitations as an analytical tool because it does not include changes in operating assets and liabilities and excludes the effect of certain other cash flow items, all of which could have a material effect on our financial condition and results from operations. CAFD is a non-GAAP measure and should not be considered an alternative to cash provided by operating activities or any other performance or liquidity measure determined in accordance with GAAP, nor is it indicative of funds available to fund our cash needs. In addition, our calculations of CAFD are not necessarily comparable to CAFD as calculated by other companies. Investors should not rely on these measures as a substitute for any GAAP measure, including cash provided by operating activities.