Deere Sells Wind Energy Business To Exelon Corp.

With energy prices persistently low due to a grinding economic recovery, stakes in the power industry have begun to shift. Power generation facilities like Deere’s massive wind farms are a bargain for big firms like Exelon who have cash on hand, ABC News reports. Exelon’s purchase comes on the heels of other big acquisitions in the power industry, as companies look to lock in good deals before an expected recovery starts to boost prices. Earlier this month, Blackstone Group paid $542.7 million to take Houston’s Dynegy Inc. private.

Deere said the sale will let it focus on what it does best — building farm equipment. The company said it once saw the wind business as an extension of its agricultural work, with projects located in rural areas.

Deere was involved in project management and financing, buying much of the hardware used in the wind projects from India’s Suzlon Energy, one of the biggest suppliers in the world. Deere invested $1 billion over the past five years in the financing, development and ownership of wind energy projects.

The Deere business brings with it a physical infrastructure that includes 36 completed projects in eight states with an operational capacity of 735 megawatts. The projects, which will be operated by subsidiary Exelon Generation Co., could power nearly 184,000 homes, according to Energy Department figures.