Brookfield Renewable Acquires Common Shares of Western Wind

HAMILTON, BERMUDA--(Marketwire - Aug. 29, 2012) -

All amounts in Canadian dollars unless otherwise stated

Brookfield Renewable Energy Partners L.P. (TSX:BEP.UN) ("Brookfield Renewable") today announced that it has acquired an aggregate of 10,727,506 common shares and 319,741 warrants of Western Wind Energy Corporation ("Western Wind"), pursuant to securities purchase agreements with a third-party institutional investor (the "Vendor") dated August 28, 2012. The securities were acquired for cash consideration of $2.25 per common share and $1.00 per warrant.

As a result of the acquisition of securities, Brookfield Renewable now owns and controls 10,727,506 common shares of Western Wind, representing approximately 16.2 percent of the issued and outstanding common shares, and 319,741 warrants that, if exercised, would represent approximately an additional 0.5 percent of the presently issued and outstanding common shares.

In light of the announcement by Western Wind that it has commenced a process to sell the company or its assets, Brookfield Renewable and the Vendor have agreed that if any party acquires Western Wind at a higher price by August 28, 2013, Brookfield Renewable would pay the Vendor an additional amount. In connection with the transaction, the Vendor has granted Brookfield Renewable an irrevocable proxy to vote the common shares, including at the Western Wind annual shareholder meeting currently scheduled for September 25, 2012. The Vendor also provided Brookfield Renewable with the right, for a period of one month, to purchase an additional 277,103 common shares of Western Wind held by the Vendors on the same terms and conditions as the purchase of the common shares, which would increase Brookfield Renewable's ownership and control to approximately 16.7 percent of the issued and outstanding common shares.

The common shares and warrants of Western Wind were acquired for investment purposes. Depending upon future market and economic conditions, as well as developments affecting Western Wind, its business or its securities, Brookfield Renewable may decide to purchase additional securities of Western Wind or to sell all or part of its investment.

An Early Warning Report regarding the acquisition of the common shares of Western Wind has been filed on the System for Electronic Document Analysis and Review ("SEDAR") and can be viewed at www.sedar.com.

Brookfield Renewable Energy Partners (TSX:BEP.UN) operates one of the largest publicly-traded, pure-play renewable power platforms globally. Its portfolio is primarily hydroelectric and totals approximately 5,000 megawatts of installed capacity. Diversified across 67 river systems and 10 power markets in the United States, Canada and Brazil, the portfolio generates enough electricity from renewable resources to power two million homes on average each year. With a virtually fully-contracted portfolio of high-quality assets and strong growth prospects, the business is positioned to generate stable, long-term cash flows supporting regular and growing cash distributions to unitholders. For more information, please visit www.brookfieldrenewable.com.

CAUTIONARY STATEMENT REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION

Certain statements in the press release are forward-looking statements and are prospective in nature, including statements with respect to Brookfield Renewable's future payments to the vendor and its intentions regarding the securities of Western Wind. Forward-looking statements are not based on historical facts, but rather on current expectations and projections about future events, and are therefore subject to risks and uncertainties which could cause actual results to differ materially from the future results expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. These statements generally can be identified by the use of forward-looking words such as "may", "should", "will", "could", "intend", "estimate", "plan", "anticipate", "expect", "believe" or "continue", or the negative thereof or similar variations. Such statements are qualified in their entirety by the inherent risks and uncertainties surrounding future expectations. Such forward-looking statements should therefore be construed in light of such factors, and Brookfield Renewable is not under any obligation, and expressly disclaims any intention or obligation, to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.