PensionDanmark to invest USD 200m in US Cape Wind offshore wind project

Jun 19, 2013 - PensionDanmark will invest USD 200 million (EUR 149m) in the 454-MW Cape Wind offshore wind project in the US, the Danish pension fund said Tuesday.

The investment is to come in the form of a mezzanine loan and is to be made via the Copenhagen Infrastructure I fund, where PensionDanmark is the sole investor. It is conditional on a final investment decision about the USD-2.6-billion project being made by the end of 2013.

Located off the coast of Massachusetts, Cape Wind, which is described as America's first offshore wind farm, will consist of up to 130 turbines of 3.6 MW, supplied by German engineering group Siemens (ETR:SIE). The scheme is being developed by Boston-based Energy Management Inc and is expected to reach financial close by the end of the year. It is to be funded through a combination of equity and loans. Power purchase agreements have been secured for the first phase, which envisages the construction of 101 turbines.

PensionDanmark chief executive Torben Moger Pedersen noted the pension fund had provided equity or debt funding for wind farms in Denmark, the US, Sweden and Belgium, adding that the Cape Wind investment looked attractive at a time of low bond yields.

(USD 1.0 = EUR 0.747)

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