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Rapid City, S.D.-based Blacks Hills Corp. is on the lookout to acquire coal and natural gas-fired assets in the western region of the U.S. Mark Thies, senior v.p. and cfo, says the company is on the hunt for generation assets to take advantage of depressed asset valuations that have arisen from the fallout of the merchant energy sector.

Mandated leadCredit Lyonnais is looking to round out syndication of a small Colorado project loan for Calpine through the addition of a $25 million retail round. The decision to add a junior lending tier has surprised many in the market, who had assumed syndication already had closed, albeit with limited success. The French bank is aiming to close the retail round by next Monday, notes one financier. Credit Lyonnais officials declined to comment.

Consolidated Natural Gas, a subsidiary of Richmond, Va.-based Dominion, has set up a new 364-day revolver via lead bank Barclays Capital and, despite broader energy market negativity, has had to cut back syndicate allocations because of strong demand.

Unisolar, a Troy, Mich.-based manufacturer of thin-film solar-power cells, is seeking $20 million in private equity financing and has tapped private asset managerde Visscher & Co. to raise the cash. The financing is Unisolar's second round of private equity financing, according to François de Visscher, president and founder of the Greenwich, Conn.-based investment and advisory company, which manages the portfolio of Belgium's de Visscher family.

Following is a directory of upcoming projects and related financing in the Latin American power sector. To report new deals or provide updates, please call Amanda Levin, Reporter, at (212) 224-3292 or email: alevin@iinews.com

Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein has pulled the plug on its project finance lending business and in its place is establishing an 11-strong global power and energy project finance advisory business, under Graham Lofts, managing director, in London.

Moves to sell Damhead Creek, Entergy Wholesale Operations ailing U.K. merchant power plant, moved a step closer last week after the lead banks involved in funding the 800 MW gas-fired facility pushed for a loan restructuring that would make an outright sale easier to executive.

DTE Energy has reportedly entered negotiations with NRG Energy to acquire its majority stake in a 2.4 GW coal-fired power plant in Louisiana. A banker familiar with the matter says a deal could be hammered out within the next few days. While terms have not been sealed the banker says NRG will likely receive some $1 billion for its 90% stake in Big Cajun II, in New Roads, La., one of four Pelican State thermal power plants it put on the block this spring (PFR, 6/3/02). Spokespersons Lesa Bader at NRG and John Austerberry at DTE did not immediately return calls.

Exelon has decided to exit weather derivatives, emissions, coal and congestion trading after designating these markets illiquid, according to market officials who have spoken to the company. As a result of the decision it has let go several staff, including Peter Frantz, head of weather derivatives in Kennett Square, Pa. Calls to Frantz were referred to Ben Armstrong, a company spokesman, who says Exelon Generation continues to actively trade the commodity markets. He was unable to comment on Frantz or the four markets the company is exiting. Frantz could not be reached.

Hartford, Conn.-based Northeast Utilities is on the lookout to acquire natural gas-fired generation assets in New York state and the New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Maryland (PJM) power pool over the next 18 months. John Forsgren, vice chairman and cfo, says the company is scouring these markets to take advantage of depressed asset valuations.