CIP commits to Blue Cloud onshore wind farm

Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP) will, through the fund Copenhagen Infrastructure II K/S (CI-II), make an equity investment for the construction of Blue Cloud, an onshore wind farm located in the Bailey and Lamb Counties of Texas.

The wind farm will consist of forty-three V126-3.45 MW Vestas turbines for a total capacity of 148.4 MW. Blue Cloud is expected to commence commercial operation in the fourth quarter of 2018 and qualifies for 100% of Production Tax Credits (“PTC”). A tax equity investor will enter the project at the time of commercial operation.

Blue Cloud has been co-developed with the Dallas-based developer TriGlobal Energy. The Balance of the Plant (“BOP”) will be executed by Black & McDonald, a leading BoP contractor in the North American onshore wind market – also responsible for the construction of CI-II’s Bearkat I project. Vestas will provide operational and maintenance services for the turbines via a 25-year service agreement. The project will feed its generated power to the Southwest Power Pool market.

“Blue Cloud will become our second equity investment in the US onshore wind market that we bring to Financial Close with tax equity investors. We are glad to continue our successful cooperation with our partners and we are looking forward to see Blue Cloud delivering its first unit of electricity to the grid”, says Christian Skakkebæk, Senior Partner in CIP.

“We are pleased to add to our growing portfolio with CIP and to expand the V126 -3.45 MW footprint in the U.S. Each of these turbines will support approximately 30 jobs over the course of their lifetime, and drive growth in a thriving American manufacturing supply chain”, said Chris Brown, President of Vestas North America.

Blue Cloud is expected to generate electricity equivalent to the electricity consumption of more than 56,000 average US households a year.