Aquila Capital buys two German wind farms

German asset manager Aquila Capital has acquired two operating wind farms in Germany generating a combined 80MW.

The projects are located in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and Brandenburg and raise Aquila’s total wind portfolio capacity to 724MW. The projects were acquired from one of Germany’s largest developers and were connected to the grid in 2014 with 20-year feed-in tariffs.

The acquisition raises Aquila’s total wind portfolio capacity to 724MW, with a total investment volume of €578 million at the end of March. Aquila’s most recent wind investment was in March when it bought an undisclosed stake in the 110MW Midtfjellet project, Norway’s largest wind park.

Last week, the asset manager announced it was hiring Daniel Just, the former chief executive of Germany’s largest pension fund Bayerische Versorgungskammer, to its advisory board. Just is the latest addition to the board after Olaf Huth, the former chief executive of HSBC Trinkaus and Burkhardt joined in July.

Aquila, headquartered in Germany, has focused the majority of its renewable energy investments in the hydroelectric sector. Since March, the asset manager has closed hydro transactions totalling $788 million, and generates a combined 1,452 TWh.

The asset manager told Infrastructure Investor in August it was nearing a €200 to €300 million first close for its debut European hydro fund. Aquila said the fund is targeting an undisclosed amount and has a minimum subscription of €10 million. It’s looking to invest in five to 10 hydro generating portfolios worth around €1 billion.

Last November, Aquila closed its third hydropower deal in 18 months with the acquisition of Norwegian small-scale hydropower plant operator Smakraft. The deal added 45 operating plants generating over 500GWh annually and tightened Aquila’s grip on the Norwegian hydropower sector.