Aquila European Renewables Income Fund (AERIF) has announced its intention to increase existing investment in Svindbaek Vindkraft HoldCo ApS (Svindbaek), by acquiring three additional wind turbines (“Svindbaek II”) totalling approximately EUR 13.2m ($14.23).
The acquisition of Svindbaek II completes the acquisition of all wind turbines associated with the Svindbaek wind farm. The new investment provides for 9.6 MW of installed capacity.
The Project benefits from a Danish premium tariff (feed-in premium structured as a ‘contract for difference’) for a fixed volume of production which is expected to last for approximately nine years.
Svindbaek II helps to save 6,562 tons of CO² emissions per annum, saving an estimated 157,482 tons over the projected lifetime of the asset.
Upon completion of this deal, the Company will have invested approximately 63.1 per cent and committed another 18.9 per cent of its total proceeds (EUR 194.3m /$209.2m).
Ian Nolan, chairman of AERIF, said: “The Board is pleased that the Company (AERIF) has already been able to start deploying capital from its recently placed equity issuance. Svindbaek II is an operating wind farm that will immediately contribute to the investors’ dividend cover.”
Commenting on the announcement, Christine Brockwell, head of Partnerships & Portfolio Management at Aquila Capital, the Investment Adviser, said: “The first quarter of 2020 has been very positive for AERIF. We successfully completed our EUR 40m ($43m) equity issuance and within a couple of weeks were able to deploy EUR 13.2m into the high quality Svindbaek II project. The acquisition of this asset underpins the Company’s ability to generate a strong dividend yield and reinforces our investment proposition.”
