$1.5 BILLION IN FINANCING SECURED FOR NEW POWER PLANT

NEW YORK CITY — A total of $1.5 billion in debt and equity financing has been secured for the construction of a natural gas power plant located in the Astoria neighborhood of Queens. Once the facility goes on-line in 2011, it will provide 550 megawatts of energy to the New York Power Authority, which has a 20-year tolling agreement with the plant’s owner, Astoria Energy II LLC. The new phase will double the size of the current Astoria Energy facility, which was first constructed in 2004. Debt financing for the project was provided by 13 domestic and international commercial bank lenders. Equity financing was provided by an affiliate of SNC-Lavalin Generation, also the project’s general contractor, as well as an affiliate of GDF Suez North America, which is the project’s construction manager. Other equity investors include affiliates of Manhattan-based JEMB Realty and Energy Investor Funds.