Hydrogen Charbone Corporation has announced that it has entered into a contract to purchase all general partner and limited partner interests in Tower Kleber Limited Partnership and the Black River Limited Partnership from Northwoods Hydropower Inc. for a purchase price of $3.6 million, subject to adjustments.
These partnerships own the 560 kW Tower, 1.2 MW Kleber and 1 MW Alverno small hydroelectric plants located in Onaway, Mich. The acquisition is set to close by February 28, 2023, pending customary closing conditions.
Charbone plans to acquire hydroelectric power stations, optimize them to increase production capacity and increase the value of the assets for Charbone and its shareholders. These power plants are parties to long-term power purchase agreements with local utilities, which will increase recurring revenues for 2023 and the duration of the agreements.
Additionally, the plants generate income from the sale of renewable energy certificates from the production of green, clean energy. The goal of this strategy is to support Charbone's efforts to establish a regional green hydrogen hub in Michigan and other locations.
Charbone intends to construct and operate modular and expandable green hydrogen production plants in Michigan and Wisconsin in the coming years. These hydroelectric facilities will provide land for the green hydrogen facilities or expand capacity through modernization and automation of existing equipment, such as new turbines.
This will allow Charbone to produce more electricity at one end of the network, then transmit it to local public authority lines for a transport fee, to facilitate hydrogen production in large industrial or urban areas near end users.
Northwoods' management and operation teams will remain in place and collaborate with Charbone's engineering team to carry out optimization, modernization and automation projects at each powerhouse.
“This acquisition consolidates Charbone's strategy in the Midwest. These hydroelectric plants are well located to produce green hydrogen and deliver it to Detroit, the heart of construction automobile industry in North America, which is increasingly adopting hydrogen technologies,” said Dave B. Gagnon, president and chief executive officer of Charbone.
Charbone, a Canadian company, aims to create modular and expandable hydrogen production plants. They plan to achieve this by acquiring hydroelectric power stations in the United States and Canada. This will allow them to generate clean hydrogen using sustainable energy sources, positioning them as a supplier of eco-friendly solutions for commercial use.
