A Texas wind farm facing a $113 million bill from Citigroup Inc. for failing to deliver power during last month’s cold snap filed a lawsuit seeking to protect itself against the risk of a takeover and forced liquidation by the bank, WSJ Pro Bankruptcy reported. Stephens Ranch Wind Energy LLC filed the lawsuit Tuesday in the Supreme Court of New York County, accusing Citi of using the winter freeze that swept Texas last month “as a basis to seize control of Stephens Ranch and liquidate its assets.” Citi declined to comment. The bank declared defaults against Stephens Ranch after its wind turbines were “incapacitated” during the winter storm and the facility couldn’t meet contractual obligations to generate power, according to the complaint. Stephens Ranch, which operates 210 turbines with a capacity of 376 megawatts located between the cities of Lubbock and Odessa, said the notices of default, which it disputes, put it at “severe risk of losing its business.” Justice Robert R. Reed entered a restraining order on Wednesday blocking Citi from taking action against the wind farm based on the alleged default and scheduled a further hearing on the dispute for April 22.
