Endowment Invests in Maine Wind Power Project

The Yale University Endowment is investing funds in the Record Hill wind power project in Maine, which has been offered a conditional commitment from the U.S. Department of Energy for a $102 million loan guarantee.

“Yale University is pleased to participate in a project that both makes economic sense and serves the greater good by adding to the country’s stock of renewable energy sources,” David Swensen, Yale’s Chief Investment Officer, said of the Endowment’s role in the project. “Our investment in Record Hill builds on Yale’s strong commitment to the goals of reducing the University’s carbon footprint and of serving as a model of sustainability.”

The Department of Energy conditional commitment for a loan guarantee to Record Hill Wind LLC will support a 22 turbine, 50.6-megawatt wind power plant, a transmission line, and associated interconnection equipment near the town of Roxbury, Maine. Managed by Wagner Wind Energy I, LLC of New Hampshire and Independence Wind, LLC of Maine, the Record Hill project will avoid over 70,000 tons of carbon dioxide annually, equivalent to the annual greenhouse gas emissions from over 13,000 passenger vehicles. In addition to producing enough sustainable electricity to power thousands of Maine households, Record Hill is expected to create 200 construction jobs.

The Yale Endowment includes many donated funds that support the University’s study of the environment, and the Yale Investments Office has invested the Endowment in green technology ventures including solar, wind and biofuels. A number of these environmental funds and investment areas are described in the 2009 Endowment Update: http://www.yale.edu/investments/Yale_Endowment_09.pdf

U.S. Department of Energy Announcement:
http://www.energy.gov/news/10161.htm