German turbine manufacturer Enercon has launched an investment platform for institutional investors looking to invest in onshore wind in Europe.
The Enercon Wind Onshore Deutschland I facility is the company’s first investment product and is a closed-ended reserved alternative investment fund.
It has secured two unnamed large public law insurance companies as anchor investors, with subscribed capital exceeding the investment volume of €50m by almost double, Enercon said.
The fund is investing in five German wind farms that are already in operation.
They comprise 31 Enercon turbines with a total nominal power of 79MW generating around 135 million kilowatt-hours of electricity a year.
All of the projects will receive a fixed feed-in tariff under the German Renewable Energy Sources Act (EEG) for 20 years.
Enercon will take over the maintenance and servicing of the turbines for 25 years.
EB – Sustainable Investment Management, a subsidiary of the Evangelische Bank, is the investment advisor.
Universal Investment has been commissioned as alternative investment fund manager and, on the sales side, the Warburg Bank offered support.
Enercon fund project manager Peter Kossmann said: “The platform thus offers a suitable answer to the rising demand for investments in renewable energies in a regulated environment.”
Enercon chief executive Momme Janssen said: “This platform puts Enercon in a position to be able to offer tailored investment opportunities for investors.
“We see this offering as an additional aspect of customer support for those customers who would like access to investment opportunities in renewable energies, and of our general aim to continue driving forward the use of renewable energies and onshore wind energy in particular.
“After all, we do not have any problems with investments in onshore wind energy projects, but rather with the further expansion of onshore wind.
“Politicians urgently need to tackle this issue so that wind expansion in Germany finally gets the fresh boost it needs.”