Engie agrees financing, PPA for 208-MW Norwegian wind project

French electric utility Engie SA (EPA:ENGI) today announced financing agreements and a 25-year offtake deal for a 208-MW wind project that the company has developed in Norway.

Engie will keep a 20% stake in the project, called Tonstad, while Swiss investment manager Susi Partners AG will own 80% via the Susi Renewable Energy Fund II. Susi Partners provided financial structuring support and German Landesbank Baden-Wuerttemberg (LBBW) will provide the project debt financing package.

Hydro Energi, a unit of Norwegian aluminium producer Norsk Hydro ASA, will buy 100% of the wind farm's output under a power purchase agreement (PPA) that runs from 2020 to 2045. It will also handle all balancing and nomination from the commissioning of the wind farm and for the duration of the contract. The PPA will serve Hydro's aluminium plants in Norway.

The Tonstad wind farm, located in the municipalities of Sirdal and Flekkefjord in southern Norway, will use 51 turbines from Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy SA (BME:SGRE). Engie will continue to manage the construction and provide operational support to the project.

Sandra Roche, chief executive of Engie Nordics, said the project is an example of the company's strategy to develop large wind projects in partnership with big industrial offtakers and a financial equity partner. "It is also a first step for ENGIE in renewables in the Nordics, where the group intends to further expand its activities, in contribution to the ongoing energy transition," Roche added.

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