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Constellation, Exelon shareholders approve merger
Garrett County legislators have told Exelon Corp. and Constellation Energy Group, which plan to merge, that if they want to build new wind energy projects, they might want to look elsewhere.
County commissioners in Maryland‘s westernmost county sent a letter on Nov. 8 to Chicago-based Exelon addressing a proposal in the merger to build a new, 25-megawatt renewable energy project if the deal is approved.
Garrett County Commission Chairman Gregan Crawford said in the letter that wind projects have been “contentious” in the county for nine years and the disputes were a likely reason the entire commission was replaced in last year’s election.
“The recently elected Board of Garrett County Commissioners has not embraced the concept of wind energy development in our County for a multitude of reasons,” Crawford said in the letter to Exelon. “Furthermore, the Board of Garrett County Commissioners does not support further industrialization of ridge tops until a prudent and reasonable public policy has been created and enacted that will provide protections to those who will be adversely impacted by the presence of industrial turbines.”
Garrett County officials have been trying to get a bill passed by the General Assembly that would give them the power to draft ordinances determining setbacks for commercial wind turbines and to establish a fee for decommissioning them later.
The renewable energy project is part of the incentive package the companies have proposed to sweeten the $7.9 billion takeover deal for legislators and regulators in Maryland. Constellation already has a $160 million, 70- megawatt wind farm with 28 wind turbines in Garrett County.
“It’s premature to speculate what type of renewable energy will be built or where it would be located,” Exelon said in a statement Thursday. “We appreciate this input from the Board of Garrett County Commissioners and will keep it in mind as we get closer to developing this renewable project.”
The two companies, meanwhile, announced that their shareholders approved the merger at special meetings on Thursday.
Holders of about 71 percent of Exelon common stock voted with about 97 percent voting in favor. The owners of about 78 percent of Constellation common stock voted on the deal with about 87 percent voting in favor.
Under the proposed deal, Exelon shareholders would own about 78 percent of the combined company with Constellation Energy Group Inc. shareholders owning about 22 percent. The deal is expected to close in early 2012 if approved by regulators.
“As we have said from the beginning, this merger creates great value for our customers and shareholders,” said Exelon President Christopher M. Crane in a statement. “We will bring together the number one competitive energy provider with one of the industry’s cleanest and lowest-cost power generation fleets. It also will bring three outstanding utility businesses in BGE, ComEd and PECO.”
The Associated Press contributed to this article.
