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Masdar secures funds for Baltic Eagle acquisition: UAE renewables firm Masdar has reached financial close on EUR 488 mn in funding to secure its 49% acquisition of the 476 MW Baltic Eagle wind farm off the coast of Germany, according to a statement published on Friday. The lending package marks Masdar’s largest EUR-denominated financing.
Refresher: Masdar entered a strategic agreement with Spanish utility provider Iberdrola last July to co-invest in the purchase of the EUR 1.6 bn project.
About the wind farm: Baltic Eagle is currently being built off Germany’s northeastern coast and will comprise 50 wind turbines, each with a 9.53 MW generation capacity. The project — which is slated to kick off initial operations by the end of 2024 — will produce 1.9 TWh of clean energy once it achieves full production capacity, providing renewable power to some 475k homes and offsetting c. 800k tons of carbon emissions annually. 100% of Baltic Eagle’s production volume has already been sold via long-term offtake agreements.
Who’s backing the transaction? ABN AMRO, Credit Agricole CIB, ING, Santander, and Siemens Bank have contributed to the lending package, and Santander acted as financial advisor.
Masdar is expanding its EU presence: Masdar also finalized the acquisition of a 49% stake in the UK’s 3 GW Dogger Bank South wind farm from German energy giant RWE earlier this month. The company agreed with RWE to co-develop the Dogger Bank South wind farm which will be split across two sites with 1.5 GW of capacity each. The first 800 MW of electricity is expected to come online in 2029. Masdar and RWE are also operating the 630 MW London Array offshore wind farm.
IN OTHER MASDAR NEWS-
#1-Masdar is among six investors exploring acquiring majority stakes in India’s Ayana Renewable Power, a clean energy company owned by the Southeast Asian country’s National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF), Indian outlet The Economic Times reports, citing sources it says are in the know. The sale of a majority stake is expected to value Ayana at USD 1 bn in equity, with an enterprise value of USD 2.5-3 bn. Non-binding bids are expected by mid-April.
REMEMBER- Masdar is also eyeing an undisclosed stake in Turkish wind producer Fiba Yenilenebilir Enerji.
#2- Another Uzbekistan venture: Masdar signed an agreement with Uzbekistan’s state hydroelectric power producer JSC Uzbekhydroenergo to explore the feasibility of developing large-scale pumped storage hydro projects across Uzbekistan, according to a statement released on Friday.
Pumped storage hydro? Pumped storage hydro is crucial for stabilizing the intermittent supply from renewable sources like solar and wind, offering a utility-scale storage solution. Masdar already connected 1.4 GW of renewable energy from wind and solar projects to Uzbekistan’s grid last December.
