Frankfurt, 26. October 2017
Today Prime Capital AG has announced the closing of Project Nordlicht (Nordlicht), an onshore wind power project with 281.4 MW in aggregate, located near the city of Tromsø in northern Norway. Nordlicht is the largest onshore renewable energy project in Europe this year that reached financial close. It will supply energy equivalent of the yearly consumption of approx. 50.000 Norwegian households.
Prime Capital AG developed and structured the investment together with Norsk Miljøkraft, a local Norwegian developer, as well as with Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy (Siemens Gamesa). Prime Capital will manage the project on behalf of the investors, Ärzteversorgung Westfalen-Lippe and Siemens Financial Services, via a long-term asset management contract.
Nordlicht, which comprises Kvitfjell and Raudfjell wind parks, has secured an attractive long-term power off-take agreement with a leading global aluminium supplier, which for the first time includes a guarantee by the Norwegian export credit guarantee agency GIEK with a rating of AAA. Electricity certificates will be marketed under a long-term service agreement with a large Norwegian utility company. These agreements help ensure that Nordlicht will generate attractive and sustainable earnings for Ärzteversorgung Westfalen-Lippe and Siemens Financial Services.
Nordlicht bears some unique features: the deployment of 67 wind turbines from Siemens Gamesa with 4.2 MW each using direct drive technology and the latest de-icing technology. The turbines will be operated under a long-term service contract.
Nordlicht marks the first direct equity onshore wind investment for Ärzteversorgung Westfalen-Lippe; Prime Capital already manages a significant portfolio of wind and hydro assets, both in Germany as well as across Northern Europe.
Debt financing is provided by DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale Frankfurt, which includes inter alia funding by Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (KfW).
Construction of the project has started with completion planned in 2019.
Prime Capital AG
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Prime Capital AG is an independent financial services provider and asset management firm, focusing on institutional clients. The company specializes in Alternative Investments, in particular in Absolute Return, Infrastructure Investments and Private Debt. The company also provides holistic asset management outsourcing. Prime Capital was founded in 2006 and currently employs 65 people in Frankfurt, Luxembourg and London. The company’s regulators are BaFin in Germany, CSSF in Luxembourg and FCA in the UK. As of July 2017, Prime Capital has approximately EUR 10.1 billion Assets under Management, managed on various platforms.
Ärzteversorgung Westfalen-Lippe (ÄVWL)
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The Ärzteversorgung Westfalen-Lippe (ÄVWL) is an institution of the Medical Association of Westphalia-Lippe and is one of Germany’s largest occupational pension funds. With assets under management of €13.0 billion at present ÄVWL is responsible for the old-age security of more than 56,000 members and retirees. For more information, see www.aevwl.de/en/home/.
Siemens Financial Services
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Siemens Financial Services (SFS) invests equity in large infrastructure projects worldwide concentrating on projects in which Siemens plays a key technological role in construction, operation or maintenance – usually as a general contractor or supplier of core components. SFS possesses extensive experience in the development and structuring of major international projects, excellent access to the global capital markets, in-depth expert knowledge in the relevant industry sectors and an international presence through Siemens’ global network.
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