The £5.5 billion ($8.5 billion; €7.6 billion) Lancashire County Pension Fund (LCPF) has closed its first direct investment in the wind sector with the acquisition of a minority stake in a portfolio of Portuguese wind farms.
The 500MW, eight wind farm portfolio was developed by majority shareholder EDF Energies Nouvelles and ranks among the top five wind portfolios in the country, according to LCPF. The assets are backed by 15-year feed-in tariffs from commissioning, with the possibility of cap and floor prices applying for an additional 5 to 7 years.
LCPF chief executive Mike Jensen suggested the deal might lead to others in the future: “LCPF is very enthusiastic about the perspective to become the long-term strategic partner of EDF Energies Nouvelles in Portugal and looks forward to developing and strengthening this partnership in the future”.
Jensen added the acquisition was motivated by LCPF’s search for “reliable long-term yields to match its long-term liabilities”.
Portugal’s renewables market has experienced something of a renaissance with infrastructure investors. Late last month, two infrastructure funds managed by First State Investments acquired a €900 million wind portfolio from Italian renewables firm Enel Green Power, which exited the market. And earlier in the summer, sustainable energy manager SUSI Partners bought a 50MW wind farm in the north of the country for an undisclosed amount.
This article was first published on Low Carbon Energy Investor, Infrastructure Investor’s sister publication dedicated to global energy transition markets.
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