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Asset Impairment Expense
 9 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2021
Impairment or Disposal of Tangible Assets Disclosure [Abstract]  
ASSET IMPAIRMENT EXPENSE ASSET IMPAIRMENT EXPENSE
The following table presents our asset impairment expense for the periods indicated (in millions):
Three Months Ended September 30,Nine Months Ended September 30,
2021202020212020
Ventanas 3 & 4$— $— $649 $— 
Puerto Rico— — 475 — 
Angamos— 564 155 564 
Mountain View I & II— — 67 — 
Estrella del Mar I11 30 11 30 
Ventanas 1 & 2— 213 — 213 
Hawaii— 38 — 38 
Other18 4 17 10 
Total$29 $849 $1,374 $855 
Ventanas and Angamos — In August 2020, AES Andes reached an agreement with Minera Escondida and Minera Spence to early terminate two PPAs of the Angamos coal-fired plant in Chile, further accelerating AES Andes’ decarbonization strategy. AES Andes also announced its intention to accelerate the retirement of the Ventanas 1 and Ventanas 2 coal-fired plants. Management will no longer be pursuing a contracting strategy for these assets and the plants will primarily be utilized as peaker plants and for grid stability. Due to these developments, the Company performed an impairment analysis and determined that the carrying amounts of these asset groups were not recoverable as of September 30, 2020. The Angamos asset group was determined to have a fair value of $306 million, using the income approach. As a result, the Company recognized pre-tax asset impairment expense of $564 million and $213 million at Angamos and Ventanas 1 & 2, respectively.
In July 2021, AES Andes entered into an agreement committing to accelerate the retirement of the Ventanas 3, Ventanas 4, Angamos 1, and Angamos 2 coal-fired plants in Chile. Due to these strategic developments, the Company performed impairment analyses as of June 30, 2021, and determined that the carrying amounts of the asset groups were not recoverable. The Ventanas 3 & 4 and Angamos asset groups were determined to have fair values of $12 million and $86 million, respectively, using the income approach. As a result, the Company recognized pre-tax asset impairment expense of $649 million and $155 million, respectively. Ventanas and Angamos are reported in the South America SBU reportable segment.
Mountain View I & II — In April 2021, the Company approved plans to execute a repowering project for the Mountain View I & II wind facility and signed two new PPAs for the energy and capacity related to the repowered asset. As the repowering will result in decommissioning the majority of the existing wind turbines in advance of their depreciable lives, the execution of the new PPAs was identified as an impairment indicator. The asset group was determined to have a fair value of $11 million using the income approach. As a result, the Company recognized pre-tax asset impairment expense of $67 million. Mountain View I & II is reported in the US and Utilities SBU reportable segment.
Puerto Rico — New factors arose in the first quarter of 2021 associated with the economic costs and operational and reputational risks of disposal of coal combustion residuals off island. In addition, new legislative initiatives surrounding the prohibition of coal generation assets in Puerto Rico were introduced. Collectively, these factors along with management’s decision on how to best achieve our stated decarbonization goals resulted in an indicator of impairment at our asset group in Puerto Rico. As such, management performed a recoverability test in accordance with ASC 360 and concluded that Puerto Rico’s undiscounted cash flows did not exceed the carrying value of the asset group. The fair value of the asset group was determined to be $73 million, resulting in pre-tax impairment expense of $475 million. Puerto Rico is reported in the US and Utilities SBU reportable segment.
Estrella del Mar I — In August 2020, the Estrella del Mar I power barge was disconnected from the Panama grid. Upon disconnection, the Company concluded that the barge was no longer part of the AES Panama asset group and performed an impairment analysis. The Company determined that the carrying amount of the asset was not recoverable and recognized asset impairment expense of $30 million. In September 2021, the Company recognized additional asset impairment expense of $11 million due to a change in the estimated market value of the power barge. See Note 18—Held-for-Sale and Dispositions for further information. Estrella del Mar I is reported in the MCAC SBU reportable segment.
Hawaii — In July 2020, the Hawaii State Legislature passed Senate Bill 2629 which will prohibit AES Hawaii from generating electricity from coal after December 31, 2022. As this will restrict the Company from contracting the asset beyond the expiration of its existing PPA, management reassessed the economic useful life of the generation facility. A decrease in the useful life was identified as an impairment indicator. The Company performed an impairment analysis and determined that the carrying amount of the asset group was not recoverable. As a result,
the Company recognized asset impairment expense of $38 million. Hawaii is reported in the US and Utilities SBU reportable segment.