Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners divests UK biomass power plant

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The joint venture between Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners, through its Copenhagen Infrastructure II K/S fund, and Burmeister & Wain, a Scandinavian contractor, has sold full ownership of its UK biomass power plant, Kent Renewable Energy Plant, to Greenvolt – Energias Renováveis, S.A.

COPENHAGEN, Denmark, June 25, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (“CIP”), through its flagship fund Copenhagen Infrastructure II K/S (“CI II”) and Burmeister & Wain Scandinavian Contractor (“BWSC” ) have signed an agreement to divest the UK biomass combined heat and power plant, Kent Renewable Energy Plant, to Greenvolt – Energias Renováveis, SA (“Greenvolt”), a Portuguese renewable energy company. The transaction is expected to close by October 2024.

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CI II, BWSC and original developer Estover made a Final Investment Decision (FID) for a renewable power plant in Kent in August 2016. The plant was built on budget and ahead of schedule, and was placed in commercial operation in September 2018. The plant is eligible for the Renewable Energy Obligation Certificate (ROC) and Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) scheme for power and heat respectively, as one of the latest biomass projects in the UK, with results steadily improving since launch operation.

The disposal of the Kent Renewable Energy Plant marks the fourth UK biomass exit since 2019 across CIP’s flagship funds. The four plants have a total installed capacity of 150 MW, generating energy for 350,000 households and offsetting 800,000 tonnes of CO2 per year.

Florian Küster, partner at CIP, said: “Divestitures are an integral part of CIP’s business model and play an important role in the continuous rebalancing and optimization of our portfolio. We are pleased to announce the divestiture of the Kent Renewable Energy Plant in a transaction that recognizes the value generated to date by CIP and our joint shareholder BWSC in the development, construction and operation of the plant.

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Benny Lynge Sørensen, CFO of BWSC and board member of Kent Power Corporation Limited, said: “BWSC is pleased to have sold the Kent Renewable Energy Plant following our active involvement in both the successful development and construction of the plant. We look forward to working with Greenvolt as the new owner, in our role as plant operator, in line with our strategy of being an independent service provider of sustainable energy solutions.”

Rothschild & Co acted as financial advisor and Herbert Smith Freehills acted as legal advisor to Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners.

About Copenhagen’s infrastructure partners
Founded in 2012, Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners P/S (CIP) is today the world’s largest specialized fund manager for greenfield renewable energy investments and a global leader in offshore wind energy. Funds managed by CIP focus on investments in offshore and onshore wind, photovoltaics, biomass and energy from waste, transmission and distribution, storage, advanced bioenergy and Power-to-X.

CIP manages 12 funds and has so far raised around €28 billion for energy and related infrastructure investments from over 160 international institutional investors. CIP employs approximately 500 people and has 12 offices around the world. More information can be found at www.cip.com

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About the Scandinavian artist Burmeister & Wain
Burmeister & Wain Scandinavian contractor A/S (BWSC) specializes in servicing, modernization, operation and maintenance of energy systems for renewable power plants. BWSC helps its customers improve the reliability and availability of energy production, increase the efficiency and performance of their power plants, design and integrate future-proof technologies, and reduce maintenance costs. With a history of designing and building hundreds of plants around the world, BWSC has the flexibility and expertise to meet almost any constraint and challenge.

BWSC has its roots in the stationary engine division of Burmeister & Wain (B&W), which has been manufacturing and installing diesel engines since 1904. Founded as a separate specialty company in 1980, BWSC was acquired by Mitsui E&S Holdings Co., Ltd., a Japanese corporation in 1990.

About the Greenvolt Group
The Greenvolt Group operates in three strategic pillars: utility-scale projects, distributed generation and biomass. At the utility scale, the Group has a portfolio of wind, photovoltaic and BESS projects with a capacity of 8.6 GW in 16 countries around the world. In the area of ​​distributed generation, Greenvolt Group continues to develop its pan-European self-consumption platform, already present in 11 regions, including the UK and Ireland, through its subsidiary Enerpower. In the segment of electricity production from biomass, it is present in Portugal and England, having six plants before taking over the plant in Kent.

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