Topic: How To Invest

Pat: What is your view on Northland Power and its high dividend yield? Thanks.

Article Excerpt

Northland Power Inc., $16.93, symbol NPI on Toronto (Shares outstanding: 97.7 million; Market cap: $1.9 billion; www.northlandpower.ca), is the new name of Northland Power Income Fund after it converted from an income trust to a corporation on January 1, 2011. Northland owns interests in nine power projects in Canada, the U.S. and Germany. These projects include natural-gas-fired plants, as well as renewable-power projects, such as wind farms and biomass operations. In all, the company generates over 1,050 megawatts of electricity a year. Northland sells almost all of its power under long-term contracts with an average length of 14 years. The company is building a number of new plants in Canada. These include the 86-megawatt Spy Hill natural-gas-fired plant; the 260-megawatt natural-gas-fired North Battleford project; and the 100-megawatt Mont Louis wind farm. It also has 216 megawatts of wind, solar and run-of-river projects in advanced stages of development in Ontario. All of these projects have been awarded under the Ontario Power…