Landmark Cypriot wind farm secures €170m financing

Platina Partners has completed the financing for a project to develop the first wind farm in Cyprus, with the EIB providing half of the debt.

Specialist private equity firm Platina Partners has completed the financing for a project to develop the first wind farm in Cyprus.

The €170 million financing package will back the development of the 82-megawatt Orites wind farm project, the company said. Debt on the transaction has an 18-year tenor and was provided by Commerzbank, ING and NordLB. The EIB provided half of the debt under a traditional project finance structure.

It is anticipated that once operational, the first phase of the farm will generate 8 percent of the island’s electricity. It will benefit from a 20-year fixed rate tariff approved by the Cypriot government and the European Commission.

Construction on the project is set to begin in September, with the plant expected to be operational by the end of 2010.

Platina has now financed wind and solar projects with a combined capacity of more than 200-megawatts. In May, the firm launched Energy Renewables, an asset management company to oversee the development, construction, financial management and operation of its  renewable energy funds.