Aquila Capital, a European alternative asset manager, has entered a joint venture with Swiss electric utility ewz to acquire 60 megawatts of wind projects in Sweden from Eolus Vind AB.
The 60MW of capacity, spread in four wind parks in the south of Sweden, comprises 29 Vestas wind turbines. ewz will hold a 51% stake in the joint venture, with Aquila holding the balance.
Google will purchase the entire electricity produced by the four wind farms under a long-term power-purchase agreement. Eolus will provide technical and administrative services to the wind farms.
“The transaction underlines the growing popularity of the partnership model between utility companies and specialist financial investors, which harnesses their joint financial, regulatory and technical expertise,” said Roman Rosslenbroich, CEO of Aquila Capital. “This is proving to be a highly efficient solution to financing infrastructure projects.
“Previously, institutional investors preferred to allocate capital to real assets through funds and direct investments. Today, we are seeing a clear trend towards co-investment structures, particularly in the renewable energy and infrastructure segments.