DENMARK – PensionDanmark is investing DKK2.9bn (€384m) in a transmission network for wind energy in the North Sea to be built and operated by Dutch company TenneT.
The Danish labour-market pension scheme is making the investment via Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP), which was set up in 2012 with DKK6bn from PensionDanmark as seed investor.
However, CIP said this investment was being made through a separate legal structure with PensionDanmark – rather than the partnership – as the investor.
The investment in the new DolWin3 offshore grid connection – which will transmit power to German customers on the mainland from several wind farms in the German North Sea – will be made jointly with TenneT, CIP said.
TenneT, which is owned by the Dutch state, will finance most of the expected construction costs of the DKK14.2bn project, as well as building and operating the grid.
DolWin3 is planned to be ready for use in 2017, and the system has a total capacity of 900MW.
Torben Möger Pedersen, chief executive at PensionDanmark, said: “We are very satisfied with our cooperation with CIP, which is undertaking and managing many of our investments in stable alternatives.”
He said the investment was a good addition to the pension fund’s existing investments in alternatives, and would contribute to securing a good, steady return for scheme members for many years to come.
PensionDanmark said its target was to invest 20% of its total assets in more than DKK150bn of stable alternatives such as property and infrastructure.
The investment is subject to the approval from German competition authorities, CIP said.
