Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners divests UK biomass power plant
25 June 2024 - 1:05AM
Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners divests UK biomass power
plant
Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (“CIP”), via its Flagship Fund
Copenhagen Infrastructure II K/S (“CI II”), and Burmeister &
Wain Scandinavian Contractor (“BWSC”), have signed an agreement to
divest the UK biomass heat and power plant, Kent Renewable Energy
Plant, to Greenvolt – Energias Renováveis, S.A. (“Greenvolt”), a
Portugal-based renewables company. The transaction is expected to
close by October 2024.
CI II, BWSC and original developer Estover took a Final
Investment Decision (FID) on the Kent Renewable Energy Plant in
August 2016. The plant was constructed on budget and ahead of time
and went into commercial operation in September 2018. The plant is
qualified for the Renewables Obligation Certificate (ROC) regime
and Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) regimes, for power and heat
respectively, as one of the last biomass projects in the UK, and
performance has continuously improved since operation started.
The divestment of Kent Renewable Energy Plant marks the fourth
exit of biomass investments in the UK since 2019 within CIP’s
Flagship Funds. The four plants have an aggregate installed
capacity of 150MW, generating power to 350,000 households and
offsetting 800,000 tonnes of CO2 per year.
Florian Küster, Partner at CIP, said: “Divestments are an
integral part of the CIP business model and play an important role
in the continuous rebalancing and optimising of our portfolio. We
are pleased to announce the divestment of Kent Renewable Energy
Plant in a transaction that recognises the value generated so far
by CIP and our co-shareholder BWSC during the development,
construction, and operation of the plant.”Benny Lynge Sørensen, CFO
of BWSC and Board member of Kent Power Corporation Limited, said:
“BWSC is pleased with the divestment of the Kent Renewable Energy
Plant after our active involvement in both the successful
development and construction of the plant. We look very much
forward to working together with Greenvolt as the new owner, in our
role as operator of the plant, aligning with our strategy of being
an independent service provider for sustainable energy
solutions.”Rothschild & Co acted as the financial advisor and
Herbert Smith Freehills as the legal advisor to Copenhagen
Infrastructure Partners.About Copenhagen Infrastructure
PartnersFounded in 2012, Copenhagen Infrastructure
Partners P/S (CIP) today is the world’s largest dedicated fund
manager within greenfield renewable energy investments and a global
leader in offshore wind. The funds managed by CIP focus on
investments in offshore and onshore wind, solar PV, biomass and
energy-from-waste, transmission and distribution, storage, advanced
bioenergy, and Power-to-X.
CIP manages 12 funds and has to date raised approximately EUR 28
billion for investments in energy and associated infrastructure
from more than 160 international institutional investors. CIP has
approximately 500 employees and 12 offices around the world. More
information, visit www.cip.com
About Burmeister & Wain Scandinavian
ContractorBurmeister & Wain Scandinavian Contractor
A/S (BWSC) specializes in servicing, upgrading, operating, and
maintaining energy systems for renewable power plants. BWSC assists
its customers in increasing the reliability and availability of
energy production, enhancing the efficiency and performance of
their power plants, designing, and integrating future-proof
technologies, and reducing maintenance costs. With a history of
designing and building hundreds of plants worldwide, BWSC possesses
the flexibility and expertise to tackle almost any limitation or
challenge.BWSC has its roots in the stationary engine division of
Burmeister & Wain (B&W), which has been building and
installing diesel engines since 1904. Established as a separate
specialist company in 1980, BWSC was acquired by Mitsui E&S
Holdings Co., Ltd., a Japanese corporation, in 1990.
About the Greenvolt GroupThe Greenvolt Group
operates in three strategic pillars: Utility Scale projects,
Distributed Generation, and Biomass. In utility scale, the Group
has a portfolio of 8.6 GW in wind, solar photovoltaic and BESS
projects across 16 countries globally. In Distributed Generation,
the Greenvolt Group continues to grow its pan-European
self-consumption platform, already present in 11 regions, including
the UK and Ireland through its subsidiary Enerpower. In the biomass
electricity production segment, it is present in Portugal and
England, owning six plants before the acquisition of the Kent
plant.