Western Wind Provides Steel Park and Mesa Project Updates

— Mar 09, 2010

estern Wind Energy Corp. is pleased to provide an update on both the 50-megawatt (MW) Mesa Wind Repower Phase One and the 11-MW Steel Power Wind and Solar project, respectively. Both projects are planned to commence construction before the end of 2010 with commercial operations before June 30, 2011. Together with Windstar, Western Wind is planning to have 161 MW of projects in construction by year end.

Western Wind is working with its EPC-BOP contractor, RMT Inc. on various project activities for both Mesa and Steel Park. Jointly, Western Wind and RMT are conducting various project tasks including preliminary design, system impact and feasibilities studies and permitting at Steel Park. An independent resource assessment has been completed on Mesa by the lender's independent engineer and Gamesa completed a site suitability study. Capacity factors are consistent with a wind resource at Mesa averaging 10.4 meters per second (23 mph) from met tower MT-34 recording over six years of wind data.

Upon commencement of the Commercial Operations Date for both Steel Park and Mesa, Western Wind will apply to the US Treasury Department for the 30 percent tax free cash grant available under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. Such tax free cash grant is anticipated to be approximately $27 million USD.

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