German fund manager Aquila Capital has acquired a wind farm in Sweden with an installed capacity of 148MW.
Aquila’s acquisition of the Lehtirova project is the firm’s first wind deal in Sweden and its second large wind investment in the region after it bought the 110MW Midtfjellet Vindkraft plant in Norway at the end of last year.
The fund manager bought Lehtirova from OX2, the Swedish wind developer. The plant remains under development and is scheduled to be connected to the grid by 2018. Much of the project’s power will be bought by Google, which has a growing presence in Sweden’s wind power market.
“Due to our strong partners, excellent wind conditions on site and the use of reliable technology, the Lehtirova wind project is ideally suited for getting engaged as an investor at an earlier stage and to go deeper into the value chain,” said Susanne Wermter, head of the special infrastructure team at Aquila Capital.
The acquisition brings Aquila’s track record in the wind sector to 900MW. The firm also has a solar portfolio of about 505MW and an installed capacity of 40MW in hydropower. It is targeting a €300 million first close for its debut European hydropower fund in the coming months.