The acquisition of the 40MW biomass power plant is Greencoat Capital’s first investment in bioenergy asset

Greencoat

Image: The Templeborough Biomass Power Plant in Rotherham. Photo: Courtesy of Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners K/S.

Greencoat Capital has signed an agreement with Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP) to acquire the 40MW Templeborough Biomass Power Plant (TBPP) for an undisclosed amount.

The Templeborough Biomass Power Plant owns a waste wood biomass plant in Rotherham, UK, whose operations began earlier this year.

The power plant has a net capacity of more than 40MW, generating low carbon electricity using locally sourced waste wood. Electricity generated from the plant is enough to power 78,000 British households while offsetting 150,000 tonnes of CO2 annually.

Greencoat Capital stated that it is making the investment on behalf of several of its pension fund clients and also represents the company’s first move into bioenergy assets.

The investment is expected to be similar in terms of its other renewable infrastructure strategies, offering stable, inflation-linked returns, with a low correlation to the broader economy.

Greencoat Capital partner Minal Patel said: “We are proud to have made our first investment, and delighted with the asset that CIP has developed.

“Greencoat has demonstrated sector leading performance with both its wind and solar strategies, and we look forward to replicating that in the bioenergy sector where we see a significant pipeline of investment opportunities.”

Templeborough Biomass Power Plant began operations this year

The development and construction of the power plant was financed by CIP through its CI-II fund. Initially, the project’s planning stage started in 2015 and it went on to begin commercial operations this year.

CIP Senior partner Christina Sørensen said: “We are pleased to announce that we have reached an agreement with Greencoat to divest our 100% stake in TBPP. CI-II acquired the project in 2015, financed its construction, and successfully reached commercial operations in February 2019.

“Since then the plant has been steadily generating renewable power from locally sourced waste wood. We would like to congratulate the new owners on the successful acquisition of a great project.”

Last October, Greencoat Renewables, a division of Greencoat Capital, had acquired the 48.3MW Ballybane wind farm for €61.3m ($68m). The acquisition increased its operational portfolio to 251MW. The Ballybane wind farm consists of 21 Enercon E70 turbines.