Oliver Thalmann, Aravis Energy’s managing partner, believes that there is an increasing demand in the Swiss energy market for electricity from European wind farms and solar energy farms. “There are interesting projects – particularly in countries such as Italy and Spain – which could be of significance for Swiss utility companies wishing to maintain a balanced and sustainable energy mix,” he says, adding, however, that not only a sound knowledge of the industry and finance is needed to select the right project, but also detailed information regarding the local conditions.
The farm sold in Spain, which has 14 3-megawatt wind turbines, supplies electricity for over 22,000 Swiss households and thus avoids 86,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions per year. It is located in Andalusia on Spain’s Atlantic coast and is one of the projects in Aravis Energy’s portfolio. Aravis Energy is the first Swiss venture capital firm to focus on the development and realisation of projects in the renewable energies sector, while the purchase of the wind farm makes EBM one of the largest Swiss wind farm owners.
Hans Büttiker, CEO of EBM, regards the sale as a logical step in EBM’s “two-pronged” approach in relation to energy production. “In light of the liberalisation of the electricity markets we are using the opportunities currently available to secure new sources for the long-term supply of energy to our networks and at the same time to meet our customers’ growing demand for environmentally friendly energies,” he explained.
In the coming years, Aravis experts plan to implement other wind and solar energy projects with a combined capacity of over 100 MW.
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