Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners divests UK biomass power plant

The joint venture between Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners, through its fund Copenhagen Infrastructure II K/S, and Burmeister & Wain Scandinavian Contractor, has divested full ownership of 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”), via 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 heat and power plant, Kent Renewable Energy Plant, to Greenvolt – Energias Renováveis, S.A. (“Greenvolt”), a Portugal-based renewables company. The transaction is expected to close by October 2024.

CI II, BWSC and original developer Estover took a Final Investment Decision (FID) on the Kent Renewable Energy Plant in August 2016. The plant was constructed on budget and ahead of time and went into commercial operation in September 2018. The plant is qualified for the Renewables Obligation Certificate (ROC) regime and Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) regimes, for power and heat respectively, as one of the last biomass projects in the UK, and performance has continuously improved since operation started.

The divestment of Kent Renewable Energy Plant marks the fourth exit of biomass investments in the UK since 2019 within CIP’s Flagship Funds. The four plants have an aggregate installed capacity of 150MW, generating power to 350,000 households and offsetting 800,000 tonnes of CO2 per year.

Florian Küster, Partner at CIP, said: “Divestments are an integral part of the CIP business model and play an important role in the continuous rebalancing and optimising of our portfolio. We are pleased to announce the divestment of Kent Renewable Energy Plant in a transaction that recognises the value generated so far by CIP and our co-shareholder BWSC during the development, construction, and operation of the plant.”

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

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

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

CIP manages 12 funds and has to date raised approximately EUR 28 billion for investments in energy and associated infrastructure from more than 160 international institutional investors. CIP has approximately 500 employees and 12 offices around the world. More information, visit www.cip.com

About Burmeister & Wain Scandinavian Contractor
Burmeister & Wain Scandinavian Contractor A/S (BWSC) specializes in servicing, upgrading, operating, and maintaining energy systems for renewable power plants. BWSC assists its customers in increasing the reliability and availability of energy production, enhancing the efficiency and performance of their power plants, designing, and integrating future-proof technologies, and reducing maintenance costs. With a history of designing and building hundreds of plants worldwide, BWSC possesses the flexibility and expertise to tackle almost any limitation or challenge.

BWSC has its roots in the stationary engine division of Burmeister & Wain (B&W), which has been building and installing diesel engines since 1904. Established as a separate specialist 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. In utility scale, the Group has a portfolio of 8.6 GW in wind, solar photovoltaic and BESS projects across 16 countries globally. In Distributed Generation, the Greenvolt Group continues to grow its pan-European self-consumption platform, already present in 11 regions, including the UK and Ireland through its subsidiary Enerpower. In the biomass electricity production segment, it is present in Portugal and England, owning six plants before the acquisition of the Kent plant.