CIP deepens involvement in North American offshore wind

Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP) has teamed up with a Canadian offshore wind developer to build a 180MW project off the coast of Newfoundland.

Beothuk Energy will lead the development for the project, which is planned for off the coast of St. George's Bay, until it has secured a power purchase agreement. Beothuk said it has agreed to develop a further pipeline of offshore ventures with CIP, and is advancing projects in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island.

“Beothuk is thrilled to be in business with one of the world's leaders in renewable energy financing, Beothuk chief executive Kirby Mercer said in a statement. “CIP brings tremendous capabilities and experience to the table as well as capital to help us quickly become one of Canada's leading wind power developers and the first with an offshore project.”

For CIP, this move deepens the Danish fund manager's involvement in North America's emerging offshore wind market. Last month, CIP acquired from Blackstone a company with rights to bid on an offshore wind project off the coast of Massachusetts.

Purchasing the company, Offshore MW, positions CIP to participate in a tender auction planned for mid-2017 for a contract to build the state's first offshore wind project. A senior partner at CIP told Infrastructure Investor the fund manager plans to bid to develop a project that generates 300MW to 500MW.