On June 22, 2015, Big Silver Creek Power Limited Partnership (BSCPLP), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Innergex Renewable Energy Inc. (Innergex), as borrower, and financial institutions comprising The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company (Manulife), as agent and lead lender and the Caisse de Dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ), as lenders, closed a $197.2 million non-recourse construction and term project financing for the Big Silver Creek run-of-river hydroelectric project. The project, with an aggregate installed capacity of approximately 41 MW, will be located on Crown land approximately 40 km north of Harrison Hot Springs, British Columbia, and is expected to reach commercial operation by the end of 2016. Electricity generated by the project will be sold under a 40-year electricity purchase agreement with BC Hydro.
BSCPLP and Innergex were represented by an in-house team comprising Nathalie Théberge, Vice-President, Corporate Legal Affairs and Secretary, Yves Baribeault, Vice President, Legal Affairs, Operations and Projects, Janine Jones, Legal Counsel, Shubha Krishnan, Legal Counsel and Nicolas Leblanc, Legal Counsel, and by McCarthy Tétrault LLP, with a team comprising Richard O’Doherty, Morgan Troke and Sebastian Nishimoto (energy & financial services); Craig Shirreff and Michael Nieinhuis (real property) and Selina Lee-Andersen (environmental & Aboriginal law).
The Lenders were represented by John Hancock/Manulife’s Managing Director, Senior Counsel and Practice Group Leader North American Investment Law, Jack Wallace, by CDPQ’s Director, Legal Affairs, Julie Tremblay, and by Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg LLP with a team comprising Nick Williams, Will Buchner and Ryan Elger (banking and project finance); Sarah Powell (energy and environmental) and Dan Wolfensohn (corporate); and by Lawson Lundell LLP with a team comprising James Sutcliffe (banking and debt financing); Christine Kowbel (Aboriginal and environmental) and Ed Wilson (real estate).
