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| Salton Sea Geothermal Plants (Courtesy ThinkGeoEnergy and Google Maps) |
Salton Sea Funding Corporation is a wholly-owned subsidiary of CE Generation LLC , which in turn, is jointly-owned by MidAmerican Energy Holdings Company (50%) and TransAlta USA Inc. (50%). Salton Sea is the funding vehicle for ten California-based geothermal projects representing an aggregate net ownership interest of 327 MWe of electrical generating capacity.
Moody's Investors Service has affirmed the Baa3 rating on Salton Sea Funding Corporation's (Salton Sea) senior secured bonds due November 2018. The rating outlook for Salton Sea remains stable.
The rating affirmation and stable outlook take into consideration the challenging operating conditions Salton Sea has encountered in 2012, but incorporate a view that the 2012 events are one-time in nature and prospective operating and financial results will be in line with historical performance.
In addition to lower energy rates, Salton Sea has faced certain operating challenges this year that Moody's does not anticipate will resurface in subsequent periods. The operating challenges resulted in lower generation and increased major maintenance costs over the first nine months of 2012 compared to 2011. Salton Sea's overall capacity factor measured 83.5% through September 2012 compared with 89.9% in the prior year.
