Nuveen adds 27MW onshore wind farm to PMT-backed fund

Nuveen’s infrastructure arm is adding a 27MW onshore wind in Southern Italy to a vehicle it created last year in partnership with PMT’s investment manager MN.

Nuveen Infrastructure said it has agreed to the forward purchase of the onshore wind farm in Italy’s Apulia region from OX2.

As part of the agreement, OX2 will finalise construction of the wind farm, which has a commercial operation date of September 2024. At this point, Glennmont Partners, an infrastructure manager owned by Nuveen, will complete the full purchase of the project.

Paul Stormoen, CEO of OX2 said: “We are happy to announce the divestment of our first project in Italy. Italy is a market with great long-term potential, and we are looking forward to developing more projects in onshore as well as technologies such as solar and energy storage.”

The project has been acquired for an undisclosed amount on behalf of the Nuveen European Core Renewable Infrastructure (NECRI) strategy.

Joost Bergsma, founder of Glennmont Partners, said:  “We are delighted to have signed this agreement with OX2 to expand our portfolio of onshore wind projects in Italy. Acquiring the project via a forward COD purchase enables our investors to benefit from stable returns while avoiding the risk associated with construction.

“The deal fits particularly with our brownfield infrastructure investment strategy, and will deliver low-cost, clean, domestically-produced power to Southern Italy.”

In September last year, Glennmont launched the NECRI strategy in partnership with MN which is investing €600m on behalf of PMT, the Dutch pension fund for workers in the metal industry. In addition to the €600m being invested by MN, the evergreen strategy was also backed by Nuveen’s parent company TIAA with a €100m investment.

Earlier this year, NECRI also bought the 19.8MW Langmarken wind farm in Kristinehamn, Southern Sweden, and the 27.6MW Vasberget wind farm in Ljusdal, Northern Sweden.

To read the latest edition of the latest IPE Real Assets magazine click here.