Canadian company Pattern Energy is to enter the Japanese renewables market with the acquisition of wind and solar projects totalling 206MW from local outift Green Power Investments and the Pattern Development 1 investment vehicle.
The projects include the operational 29MW Futtsu and 10MW Kanagi solar farms in Chiba and Shimane prefectures, respectively, and the 12MW Otsuki wind farm in Kochi, which is also online.
Two under-construction wind farms are also included in the deal. They are the 33MW Ohorayama project in Kochi, which will comprise 11 GE 3W turbines and is expected to come online in March, and the 122MW Tsugaru facility in Aomori, consisting of 38 GE 3.2MW turbines.
Tsugaru is expected to start commercial operations in mid-2020.
Pattern will pay a total of $325.5m for the projects.
The company has made an additional investment of $27m in the Pattern Development 2 vehicle to fund the acquisition of Pattern Development 1’s controlling interest in Green Power Investments.
Pattern Energy chief executive Mike Garland said: “These investments represent Pattern Energy’s entry into the exciting Japanese renewables market.
“Japan is one of the largest electrical grids in the world and has one of the most robust renewable energy markets. Additionally, we believe that as we grow our portfolio, we will be able to enhance our economics over time with the use of local, low-cost capital.”
Image: Pattern Energy
Pattern makes 206MW Japan play
By EBS