Finnish funds Taaleri and Finnfund to acquire 30% of ownership in Cibuk Wind Holding

Taaleri Aurinkotuuli, one of the Taaleri group’s investment funds, has become a shareholder of Cibuk 1 wind farm, the construction of which is supposed to be completed by the end of 2018.

The fund’s investment is made as a co-investment with Finnfund, a Finnish state-owned development financier. The transaction will provide Taaleri and Finnfund with a 30 percent ownership stake in the Cibuk project company (Cibuk Wind Holding). Taaleri Aurinkotuuli’s share of the project company is 21.5 %. The deal was signed in November 2017 and is expected to close by year-end 2017, the Finnish Taaleri announced.

The fund published the announcement on its site in early December, and the German development organization DEG, another participant in the project, recently confirmed these activities for eKapija.

Cibuk 1 wind farm is the largest wind project in Serbia to date. The 158 MW wind farm will consist of 57 GE Renewable Energy turbines and is expected produce up to 475 GWh of power per year. The amount of energy produced corresponds to the electricity demand of approximately 113.000 homes. The wind farm is located 50 kilometers east of Belgrade, in Kovin, the province of Vojvodina.

– Once in full production, the energy produced can displace more than 370,000 tons of carbon dioxide per year. The total value of the investment is 300 million euros. The wind farm is expected to be fully operational in 2019 – the press release adds.

– The majority shareholder of Cibuk Wind Holding is Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company (Masdar), a renewable energy company owned by Mubadala Investment Company. The total value of the Abu Dhabi state-owned investment company is over USD 125 billion and it has invested around USD 2.7 billion in renewable energy projects around the world over the last ten years – adds the press release by the Finnish fund.

IFC (International Finance Corporation) and EBRD (European Bank for Reconstruction and Development) are the project financiers for the Cibuk 1 wind farm.

Let us remind that Serbia has pledged to produce 27 percent of its domestic power needs from renewable energy sources by 2020, reducing the country’s dependence on coal-fired power generation in line with European Union regulations. The Cibuk 1 Wind Farm is a landmark project for renewable energy construction in Serbia and an important step towards the modernization of Serbian energy production.

Vetroelektrane Balkana Beograd

EKAPIJA