Ilmatar Energy, a newly launched Nordic wind power infrastructure platform, has acquired its first asset in Finland from Metsähallitus.
Ilmatar Energy is 70% owned by FPCI Capenergie 3, a renewable energy fund managed by Paris-based European investor Omnes Capital. Ilmatar Windpower holds the remaining 30% stake and also manages Ilmatar Energy.
Ilmatar Energy plans to buy development stage and construction ready assets in the Nordics. In the next five years, the company aims to construct and operate up to 1000MW of wind power.
The partners said Ilmatar Energy has bought its first project from the Finnish government agency in charge of part of the country’s land and water areas. No financial details were disclosed.
The acquired project, Piiparinmäki-Murtomäki, is made up of 50 turbine locations with a combined nominal capacity of over 200MW.
The partners said 41 of the turbine locations are construction ready and work is expected to begin next year.
The project is expected to be built without any subsidies but is also well-positioned to participate in the upcoming renewable energy premium scheme.
Kalle Pykälä, chairman and co-founder of Ilmatar Windpower, said: “With Ilmatar Energy, we are taking both the Finnish wind market as well as Ilmatar to the next level. No longer driven by subsidies, the Finnish wind market is ready to continue its rapid growth.
“We are looking forward to a long and mutually beneficial co-operation with Omnes, which is a uniquely experienced partner with a strong understanding of working with joint ventures as well as private equity enabling us to capture value like no other player on this market.”
Michael Pollan an investment director at Omnes Capital, said: “We have been following the Finnish wind market closely for several years thanks to its very attractive fundamentals. The recent phase-out of subsidized feed-in tariffs has provided a new investment opportunity that requires selecting the very best projects such as those developed by Metsähallitus.
”Our approach has always been to cooperate closely with developers and independent power producers and in Ilmatar we have found the perfect partner to realize this ambition thanks to their excellent track-record and unrivalled knowledge of the market. We look forward to growing our joint platform Ilmatar Energy over the coming years.”
Tuomas Hallenberg, a property development director at Metsähallitus said: “Metsähallitus and Ilmatar Energy share similar values. We are both working towards increasing low-emission energy production.
”Prospecting and developing locations suitable for wind power production on state-owned land is part of the Metsähallitus responsibility program.”
