Strategic Divestment of Kent Renewable Energy Plant
Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP) has announced the divestment of the UK-based Kent Renewable Energy Plant to Greenvolt – Energias Renováveis, S.A. This Portugal-based renewables company will take over the biomass heat and power plant. The transaction is expected to close by October 2024.
CIP, Burmeister & Wain Scandinavian Contractor (BWSC), and original developer Estover made a Final Investment Decision on the Kent Renewable Energy Plant in August 2016. The plant, constructed on budget and ahead of schedule, began commercial operations in September 2018. It qualifies for the Renewables Obligation Certificate (ROC) and Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) regimes. Since its launch, the plant’s performance has steadily improved.
Significant Contributions to the Energy Market
The Kent Renewable Energy Plant marks CIP’s fourth biomass investment exit in the UK since 2019. The four plants collectively have an installed capacity of 150MW, providing power to 350,000 households and offsetting 800,000 tonnes of CO2 annually. This divestment highlights CIP’s strategy of rebalancing and optimizing its portfolio.
Future Collaboration and Green Energy Policies
Florian Küster, Partner at CIP, emphasized the importance of divestments in CIP’s business model for continuous portfolio optimization. Benny Lynge Sørensen, CFO of BWSC, expressed satisfaction with the divestment and anticipation for future collaboration with Greenvolt, aligning with BWSC’s strategy of providing sustainable energy solutions.
Rothschild & Co acted as the financial advisor, and Herbert Smith Freehills served as the legal advisor for Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners.
About Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners
Founded in 2012, Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners P/S is the world’s largest dedicated fund manager for greenfield renewable energy investments. CIP focuses on offshore and onshore wind, solar PV, biomass, energy-from-waste, transmission and distribution, storage, advanced bioenergy, and Power-to-X. CIP manages 12 funds and has raised approximately EUR 28 billion from over 160 international institutional investors. The firm employs around 500 people across 12 offices worldwide.
About Greenvolt Group
Greenvolt Group operates in utility-scale projects, distributed generation, and biomass. It has a portfolio of 8.6 GW in wind, solar photovoltaic, and energy storage projects across 16 countries. The group continues to expand its pan-European self-consumption platform and biomass electricity production, owning six plants in Portugal and England before acquiring the Kent plant.
This divestment underscores the dynamic nature of the solar energy market and the continuous evolution of green energy policies and investments, paving the way for sustainable developments in the global energy market.
Source：koreabizwire.com
