The private equity infrastructure company Platina Partners LLP (Platina) in partnership with Swedish wind energy developer Arise Windpower AB (Arise) have officially launched their Jädraås windfarm project which at 200MW will be the largest onshore wind farm in the Nordics region and one of the largest in Europe.
The €336 million wind farm utilises the Vestas V112 wind turbine which stands at a height of 175 metres and is currently the tallest onshore commercial wind turbine. The project in its entirety consists of 66 turbines and was constructed on time and on budget in a period of less than 18 months. The wind farm will generate enough power to supply 150, 000 homes.
Equity finance for the project was provided by Arise and Platina with debt financing led by DNB aided by additional funding from Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken and, through an innovative funding package, from PensionDanmark backed by EKF. It is the first time that a pension fund has been involved in the debt financing of a renewable energy development and this arrangement therefore creates a template for other projects to follow.
Sweden’s green certificate programme aims to generate 49 percent of the country’s electricity from renewable sources by 2020, up from 39 percent in 2005, including a target of 4.5GW from onshore wind developments.
“The fact that we have completed the construction of Jädraås on time and on budget is testament to the skills of our project team and those of our partners Arise” said Emma Collins, a Managing Partner in Platina’s Energy team. “As the largest wind farm in the Nordics this project is important for Sweden, providing a meaningful step towards its 2020 renewables targets. Jädraås has also created a model which allows pension funds to invest in this asset class with confidence and we have now seen other pension funds enter the market using similar structures.”
The Jädraås windfarm is located 220km to the north of Stockholm, close to the town of Gävle.
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