Port Hawkesbury Biomass Project

6 Months Ended

Jun. 30, 2011

Port Hawkesbury Biomass Project

Port Hawkesbury Biomass Project

7. PORT HAWKESBURY BIOMASS PROJECT

In November 2010, NewPage Port Hawkesbury Corp. ("NPPH"), an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of NewPage, completed the sale of certain assets, including a boiler and land at the Port Hawkesbury, Nova Scotia mill, to Nova Scotia Power Inc. ("NSPI") for a cash sales price of $79. The assets and proceeds of this sale will remain on our books until the completion of the construction phase (proceeds will be shown as a long-term liability).

In addition, NSPI and NPPH entered into a construction agreement for NPPH to construct for NSPI a biomass cogeneration utility plant for the generation of electricity by December 31, 2012 for approximately C$93. All costs of construction up to C$93 will be paid or reimbursed by NSPI. All costs paid directly by NSPI will be excluded from our consolidated statement of cash flows. For the first half ended June 30, 2011, direct payments made by NSPI totaled $10. As part of the construction agreement, NPPH is subject to damages for failure to complete certain milestones on time, subject to limitations as provided in the agreement. In addition, NewPage issued a performance guarantee to NSPI, subject to a limitation of C$29, if NPPH defaults on the agreement. NewPage also issued a letter of credit of $10 to NSPI in November 2010 and an additional letter of credit of $5 in January 2011 in accordance with the terms of the construction agreement. All construction costs incurred, both directly and indirectly, will become other assets and all reimbursements and direct payments by NSPI will become long-term liabilities, pending completion of the construction. Upon completion of the construction phase, all the previously described assets and liabilities will be de-recognized from the balance sheet and recognized as (gain) loss on sale of assets in the statement of operations.

NSPI and NPPH also entered into a management, operations and maintenance agreement related to NPPH operating the utility assets for and under the control of NSPI for an initial period of 25 years plus the period prior to completion of the turbine, with three automatic five-year renewal terms, unless notice of termination is given. In exchange for these services, NPPH will receive payment from NSPI based upon the amount of energy produced and NPPH will receive a portion of the steam generated from the utility plant for its needs. NPPH is subject to liquidated damages in the event that a minimum level of output is not achieved. In addition, NewPage issued a performance guarantee to NSPI, subject to a limitation of C$15, if NPPH defaults on the agreement.