NewsBusiness

Construction set to begin on four wind farms – 135M financing secured from AIP

Published:08.07.2022
Tags: 
  • co-operation,
  • Finland,
  • onshore wind power,
  • stakeholders

Ilmatar begins construction on four wind farms in Finland, with the debt financing secured from Danish AIP Management. The total investment is 200 million euros, of which AIP’s share is 135 million euros. The capacity of the four wind farms totals 131.8 MW.

The wind farms will have an estimated production capacity of about 440 gigawatt-hours per year, the equivalent of electricity consumption in roughly 100,000 households and 40,500 tons in reduced emissions for each year of operation. Construction is expected to begin in July 2022 and commercial operations for all projects in the first quarter of 2024.

“The new partnership with AIP supports Ilmatar’s growth journey towards becoming a leading Nordic Independent Power Producer (IPP). The flexible financing method allows us to implement our IPP strategy because it diversifies our merchant risk and gives us an opportunity to implement our hedging strategy more comprehensively,” Ilmatar’s CEO Juha Sarsama says, commenting on the agreement.

“We are very pleased to embark on a strong partnership with Ilmatar, an experienced and local independent power producer. Finland is an attractive market for our flexible financing instrument because the country has a low risk profile, the power market fundamentals are strong, and you can get renewables projects off the ground without subsidies,” AIP’s Managing Partner Kasper Hansen sums up.

Retaining full ownership in the projects, Ilmatar Energy both develops the wind farms and operates them once construction is completed. Construction on all four projects is set to begin, and they are built on a fully merchant basis, with no subsidies.

Vestas, also from Denmark, was selected as the wind turbine supplier for the wind farms. The contract includes turbine delivery, installation and commissioning along with service agreements covering several decades for all four projects.

In total, Ilmatar currently has 16 wind farms in project development in 20 different municipalities in Finland. They consist of 262 wind turbines, with a total capacity of 1,700 MW. This is approximately 50% of the current installed wind power capacity in Finland. For comparison, the Olkiluoto 3 plant unit has a capacity of 1,600 MW.

ILMATAR

Ilmatar Energy Oy is a Finnish energy company that exclusively produces renewable energy and operates at every single stage of wind power production: Ilmatar develops, builds, owns and operates wind and solar farms and sells the electricity generated. The objective is to increase Finnish renewable energy generation capacity by 1 GW by 2027, solely by means of onshore wind power.
Ilmatar’s wind farms are built unsubsidized on a fully merchant basis. Ilmatar owns the wind farms throughout their operational life cycle.
Ilmatar Energy Group includes several project development companies and Ilmatar Service Oy that is responsible for the technical and commercial management of our wind farms. www.ilmatar.fi

AIP MANAGEMENT

AIP Management is a Danish investment manager dedicated to investing in energy and infrastructure assets in Europe and the United States. To date, AIP has invested more than EUR 4 billion in assets that contribute to the green transition. www.aipmanagement.dk

Further information:
Mikko Niimes
Manager, Communications & PR Ilmatar Energy Oy
+358 40 533 2931 mikko.niimes@ilmatar.fi

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