MidAmerican Energy Holdings Company Completes Minority Acquisition of NRG’s Agua Caliente Solar Project

Published on Wednesday, 18 January 2012 17:25 Written by TradersHuddle Staff

PRINCETON, N.J. & DES MOINES, Iowa-( Business Wire )-

MidAmerican Energy Holdings Company has completed its acquisition of a 49% interest in the Agua Caliente solar project from NRG Energy (NYSE: NRG).

“Partnering with a company with the capabilities of MidAmerican increases the certainty that, working together, we will bring to successful fruition one of the world’s largest solar PV projects,” said David Crane, President and CEO of NRG, “We are pleased to join with a power industry leader that recognizes - as we do - the enormous, and manifold, benefits of solar energy to our country.”

“MidAmerican is excited to close on our first solar investment and is emerging as an industry leader in owning solar energy generation,” said Greg Abel, chairman, president and CEO of MidAmerican Energy Holdings Company. “We look forward to working with NRG on this project and continuing to develop our portfolio with non-carbon resources that bring economic, environmental and financial benefits to stakeholders.”

While the entire 290-megawatt solar photovoltaic (PV) project, located in Yuma County, Ariz., is expected to reach final completion in 2014, the first 30-megawatt phase of Agua Caliente is expected to begin commercial operation tomorrow, January 19.

Pacific Gas and Electric has signed a long-term power purchase agreement for all of the project’s generation, which is projected to offset approximately 5.5 million metric tons of carbon dioxide over its 25 year life.

About NRG

NRG is at the forefront of changing how people think about and use energy. A Fortune 500 company, NRG is a pioneer in developing cleaner and smarter energy choices for our customers: whether as one of the largest solar power developers in the country, or by building the first privately funded electric vehicle charging infrastructure or by giving customers the latest smart energy solutions to better manage their energy use. Our diverse power generating facilities can support more than 20 million homes and our retail electricity providers – Reliant, Green Mountain Energy Company and Energy Plus – serve more than two million customers. More information is available at www.nrgenergy.com.

Safe Harbor

Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Forward looking statements above include the expected benefits and timing of the Agua Caliente solar project. Although NRG believes that its expectations are reasonable, it can give no assurance that these expectations will prove to have been correct. Factors that could cause NRG’s actual results to differ materially from those contemplated in the forward-looking statements above include, among others, general economic conditions, hazards customary in the power industry, weather conditions, competition in wholesale power markets, the volatility of energy and fuel prices, failure of customers to perform under contracts, changes in the wholesale power markets, unanticipated outages at our generation facilities, the inability to access other financing arrangements, the inability to implement value enhancing improvements to plant operations and companywide processes, our ability to create and maintain successful partnering relationships.

NRG undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. The foregoing review of factors that could cause NRG’s actual results to differ materially from those contemplated in the forward-looking statements included in this news release should not be construed as exhaustive. For more information regarding risks and uncertainties that may affect NRG’s future results, review NRG's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission at www.sec.gov.

About MidAmerican Energy Holdings Company

MidAmerican Energy Holdings Company, based in Des Moines, Iowa, is a global provider of energy services. Through its energy-related businesses, MidAmerican provides electric and natural gas service to more than 6.9 million customers worldwide. These businesses are Pacific Power, Rocky Mountain Power and PacifiCorp Energy, comprising PacifiCorp; MidAmerican Energy Company; Northern Powergrid Holdings Company; Northern Natural Gas Company; Kern River Gas Transmission Company; and CalEnergy. Information about MidAmerican is available at www.midamerican.com.

NRG:MediaMeredith Moore, 609-524-4522Lori Neuman, 609-524-4525orInvestorsChad Plotkin, 609-524-4526Stefan Kimball, 609-524-4527orMidAmerican:MidAmericanAnn Thelen, 515-281-2785