Aquila Capital has moved into Portugal’s hydropower market with the acquisition of a portfolio of 21 plants from energy company EDP.
The alternative investment specialist said it has agreed to buy the small-scale hydropower plants in northern and central Portugal for an undisclosed sum. The portfolio has a capacity of around 100MW.
Roman Rosslenbroich, the co-founder and CEO of Aquila Capital, “The country [Portugal] is highly attractive to our investors for several reasons, including the predictability provided by feed-in tariffs, the stability of the binational energy market and the absence of currency risks.
”In particular, Portuguese hydropower is an ideal addition to our institutional investors’ portfolios because it offers diversification both regionally and by asset class.”
Tor Syverud, the head of hydropower investment management at Aquila Capital, said: “This new portfolio, representing about 25% of Portuguese small-scale hydropower plants, can benefit from potential savings identified through our in-house expertise.”
To achieve synergies for institutional investors, Syverud said Aquila Capital plans further expansions on the Iberian market while following its active asset management approach.
”We are continuing to implement our acquisition strategy and with over 100 plants in Norway, Aquila Capital is the largest independent operator of small-scale hydropower plants in Europe.”
Last year, Aquila Capital made its first investment in Portugal’s renewable infrastructure, with the acquisition of a PV portfolio. The company is already active in the Iberian Peninsula’s integrated energy market, operating from its Madrid office.
