PensionDanmark has completed its British offshore wind farm debut.
The Danish institution, through the Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners’ I and II funds, is investing in the Beatrice wind farm in Scotland, which has been given the green light for construction.
Torben Möger Pedersen, chief executive at PensionDanmark said: “The investment in the Beatrice-project is PensionDanmark’s first in a British offshore wind farm.
“The investment will provide our members with attractive and stable returns [over] many years. At the same time, we contribute to the climate agenda, as well as Danish exports and employment.”
The DKK18.5bn (€2.4bn) wind farm scheme, in Outer Moray Firth, will include 84 wind turbines.
Work is scheduled to begin next year, with completion of the asset – Scotland’s largest infrastructure project – due in 2019.
Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners holds a 35% stake in the asset, with local power company SSE and SDIC Power, owned by China’s State Development & Investment Corporation, holding 40% and 25%, respectively.
PensionDanmark last year invested DKK4bn (€536m) in the Copenhagen Infrastructure II fund.
Nineteen institutional investors from Norway, Sweden and the UK backed the fund, which has a total commitment of DKK14.7bn.
Through the respective CIP funds, PensionDanmark expects to invest DKK2.8bn in the project, allocating DKK2bn to Copenhagen Infrastructure I and about DKK800m to Copenhagen Infrastructure II.
Either directly or through Copenhagen Infrastructure I and II, PensionDanmark has invested in wind farms in the US, Denmark, Germany and the UK.
PensionDanmark is not the only pension provider to invest in UK offshore wind projects, with the Strathclyde Pension Fund and Sweden’s AMF last year backing the fund launched by the UK’s Green Investment Bank.
