Wind energy in Portugal: wind farm project attracts investors

Ventinveste, a consortium of Portugal’s major energy and engineering companies, and Ferrostaal GmbH, the international project developer with investments worldwide, today announced that 220 million Euros of investment has been secured for a new wind farm project located in the North and central Portugal.

Project Âncora will consist of four wind farms with a total capacity of 171.6 MW, enough to power 125,000 homes. Planning permission and grid connections have already been secured. Ventinveste, which includes Portugal’s largest integrated energy company Galp Energia and global industrial group Martifer, along with manufacturers Efacec and Senvion, will begin construction immediately.

Today’s announcement demonstrates that investor confidence in Southern Eurozone renewable energy infrastructure projects is beginning to return as new projects emerge. The Project owners hope that it will have a ‘lighthouse effect’ that will bring investment to the country in other industry sectors too.

Investors in Project Âncora have been attracted to the excellent wind resources, ease of electricity grid connection and the developers’ strong project management expertise.

Portugal’s large wind power resources, strong reliance on renewable energy, connection to a wider Iberian energy market, and cross-party political commitment to renewable energy make it an excellent place in which to develop new onshore wind assets.

The equity funding of Project Âncora was structured by Ferrostaal Capital GmbH, a joint venture of Ferrostaal GmbH and the Asset and Investment Manager MPC Capital AG. The debt funding for the project was structured by Galp Energia.

Ferrostaal Capital GmbH, Managing Director Olivia Bernard said:

“Project Âncora shows the strength of the opportunities that exist for the right projects in the right places. These wind farms will be generating, sustainable returns for years to come. Today’s announcement is testament to the investment community’s confidence in that.”

All four wind farms are expected to be operational by late 2016. Connection to the grid is planned to occur in a sequence spanning from mid-2015 to the middle of 2016.