Stockholm (NordSIP) – On 19 August, Infracapital announced the acquisition of two pre-construction onshore wind farm projects in Finland from wind farm developer OX2.
Infracapital, the infrastructure equity investment arm of M&GPrudential, closed a £1.25 billion greenfield infrastructure fund in late 2017, Greenfield Partners Fund I LP (“IGP I”), with substantial commitments from Swedish state pension fund AP1 and other Swedish institutions.
“We are pleased to announce our first greenfield investment in Finland and the first onshore wind project for Infracapital Greenfield Partners Fund I. As a leading infrastructure investor, Infracapital is delighted to partner with Nordic developer OX2 in a project to deliver sustainable value to our investors, whilst making a material contribution to renewable energy in Finland,” said Michele Armanini, Managing Director at Infracapital, in a press release.
The fund will acquire 100 per cent of the two onshore wind projects, Kröpuln and Storbacken, consisting of 14 turbines with an estimated total production output of sufficient to power approximately 120,000 homes. OX2 will continue to act as the project’s asset manager throughout construction and operations. Construction will start in the last quarter of this year, with commercial activities anticipated to begin in late 2021. This project will be the fund’s first investment in the Nordics, and the manager’s second in Finland.
“Thanks to our strong local development team and good relationships with our sub-contractors, we have been able to optimise the wind farms so that we can deliver electricity at competitive prices completely without subsidies for a long time ahead,” said Klara Wennström, Transaction Manager at OX2.
According to Infracapital, renewable energy sources represent approximately 40 per cent of energy end-consumption in Finland. The Finnish Government’s National Energy and Climate Strategy to 2030 aims to increase the use of renewables to more than 50 per cent of energy end-consumption during the 2020s.
“We are very pleased to have established a good working relationship with Infracapital and are looking forward to our continued collaboration. With this contract included, we are now building six wind farms without subsidies in Finland, which shows that wind power will play a leading role in the transition to sustainable energy,” added Paul Stormoen, CEO of OX2.
