Canada Pension Plan Investment Board’s new European renewable-energy arm has made its first deal, committing up to $380-million to three wind farms in Finland.
CPPIB’s Renewable Power Capital Ltd. (RPC) will buy the onshore installations from OX2 AB of Sweden, which will build them under contract and be responsible for their technical and commercial management. When completed in 2022, the wind farms will generate 171 megawatts, enough to power 118,000 households, it said.
The national public pension plan set up the European company late last year as an addition to the $9-billion in equity commitments to renewables it had in other locales. Some of CPPIB’s other ventures include Cordelio Power, which operates wind and solar projects in Ontario and has partnered with a California company to do work in the western United States; and Pattern Energy Group LP, a wind-power company CPPIB bought in November, 2019.
RPC aims to invest in the range of $100-million to $500-million on projects, and Bruce Hogg, CPPIB’s head of power and renewables, said in a statement that executives see “a strong pipeline” of other opportunities in its target markets. The company is looking for onshore wind, solar and battery storage opportunities in regions such as the Nordic countries and Spain.
Mr. Hogg has said RPC seeks renewables businesses that have yet to sign long-term supply contracts, which allows it to step in at an earlier, more risky stage of the business than other investors might.
CPPIB’s previous European renewables investments were largely limited to a joint venture with Enbridge Inc. called Maple Power to invest in offshore wind projects. It was formed in 2019.
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