PNE WIND AG founds German and UK Yieldco companies

PNE Wind AG has now founded the subsidiary companies PNE Wind Yieldco Deutschland GmbH (Cuxhaven) and the PNE Wind Yieldco International Limited (Edinburgh, Scotland).

With this step, the strategic expansion of PNE Wind AG’s business model to initiate a Yieldco with 150 MW of German onshore wind farms is moving quickly forward. In the next step, commissioned wind farms will be placed in the PNE Wind Yieldco Deutschland GmbH before being acquired by the PNE Wind Yieldco International Limited. PNE Wind AG plans to sell the subsidiaries wholly or partly to investors by the end of 2016. Following the sale, PNE Wind AG intends to remain committed to the wind farms.

One of the projects headed for the Yieldco, is the "Chransdorf" wind farm in Brandenburg with a nominal capacity of 57.6 MW. The project is already under construction. For additional projects, preparation activities are already underway and construction is scheduled to begin shortly.

PNE Wind AG expects to benefit from its Yieldco strategy in multiple ways. The company anticipates that a commissioned wind farm portfolio could be sold at better conditions than would be achieved if the wind parks were sold on an individual basis. The rationale behind this is that investors prefer portfolios with commissioned wind parks with proven operational results. Furthermore, the level of risk associated with a portfolio of wind farms is less than that of individual wind farms.

PNE Wind AG plans on generating additional revenue through the management of the Yieldco and by providing O&M services for the wind farms in the portfolio. The formation of the Yieldco will also provide an additional sales channel for further projects developed by the PNE Wind Group. Finally, the temporarily owned wind farms will also deliver steady returns that will benefit the Group until the sale of the Yieldco.

Martin Billhardt, CEO of PNE Wind AG, stated:

"With the Yieldco, we want to capitalise on new opportunities which will have very positive effects for the PNE Wind Group. With the Limited company being founded, we have the opportunity to take the Yieldco public in the UK, where several Yieldcos are already successfully listed.”