Greencoat UK Wind and Swiss fund acquire four wind farms from AES

Subscribe to our newsletter and get the latest news and business opportunities in your inbox
Greencoat UK Wind and Swiss fund acquire four wind farms from AES

The Board of Greencoat UK Wind (UKW) has entered into an agreement to acquire a 51.6% stake in Sixpenny Wood, Yelvertoft, North Rhins and Drone Hill Wind Farms from subsidiaries of The AES Corporation , a global power company, for a total consideration of £90.6 million (US$150 million).

The acquisitions, which are expected to complete on 22 August, will include the prepayment of existing indebtedness and will be funded through reinvestment of UKW's cash resources and its acquisition debt facility provided by RBC, RBS and Santander.

Swiss Life Funds (Luxembourg) Global Infrastructure Opportunities S.C.A., a fund managed by Swiss Life Asset Managers will co-invest alongside UKW and acquire the remaining 48.4%. The acquisitions will be made through a joint holding company. Colville Partners advised.

All four wind farms were developed and constructed by AES and receive 1 ROC per MWh. The UK wind farms are the following:

  • Sixpenny Wood Wind Farm is located near Goole in the East Riding of Yorkshire and has a total capacity of 20.5 MW, a forecast net load factor of 31.0% and has been operational since July 2013.
  • Yelvertoft Wind Farm is located east of Rugby in Northamptonshire and has a total capacity of 16.4 MW, a forecast net load factor of 28.6% and has been operational since July 2013.
  • North Rhins Wind Farm is located on the North Rhins peninsula, west of Stranraer in Dumfries and Galloway and has a total capacity of 22.0 MW, a forecast net load factor of 37.8% and has been operational since December 2009.
  • Drone Hill Wind Farm is located west of Eyemouth in the Borders and has a total capacity of 28.6 MW, a forecast net load factor of 23.7% and has been operational since August 2012.

Tim Ingram, Chairmanof UKW, stated:

We are pleased to announce the acquisition of Sixpenny Wood, Yelvertoft, North Rhins and Drone Hill Wind Farms from AES and to increase our investment portfolio to 16 UK wind farms with net generating capacity of 271.5MW. AES is the fifth seller of wind farms to UKW, a testament to the Company's independence and to its ability to be selective in its acquisitions.

Following completion, at £225 million, UKW's total outstanding debt is expected to be approximately 38% of Gross Asset Value (leverage limit 40%).

List of country news

Country news

  • August 26, 2014

    Foresight Solar fund envisages additional equity capital raising

    Foresight Solar Fund Limited announced last week audited half year results to 30 June 2014. The company, that raised £150 million of equity capital through an Initial Public Offering (IPO) in October 2013, used the proceeds to acquire 111MW of operational UK solar capacity comprising seven individual utility scale assets. Read more
  • August 26, 2014

    Project financing agreed for first phase of 400 mw tidal energy project

    Atlantis, owner of the world’s largest planned tidal stream energy project, MeyGen, has agreed terms with a funding syndicate for a funding package for Phase 1A of the 400MW MeyGen project in Scotland, UK. Read more
  • August 28, 2014

    Riverstone, Temasek and BNRI invest in E&P company Origo Exploration

    Riverstone Holdings has announced that it will be one of three cornerstone investors in new Norway and UK-focused exploration and production (E&P) company Origo Exploration AS. Read more
  • August 29, 2014

    Aviva Investors acquires 11.3MW solar photovoltaic portfolio

    Aviva Investors has completed the acquisition of a UK 11.36MW solar photovoltaic portfolio from Zouk Capital. The assets were owned by Zouk Capital's Zouk Solar Opportunities Ltd (ZSOL) infrastructure fund. Read more
  • September 01, 2014

    Carlton Power appoints Macquarie Capital as financial adviser on £1.2 billion Manchester power station

    Carlton Power has appointed Macquarie Capital its exclusive financial adviser on raising debt and equity for its 1.8GW Trafford Power combined cycle gas turbine (CCGT) power station project in Greater Manchester, UK. Read more

Share this news

Join us

In order to get full access to News section, you must have a full subscription. You can check all the benefits of becoming a member and purchase a subscription on our membership page.