European private equity and venture capital company 3i is to further its presence in the gas and power market through a E30 million investment in a minority stake in Belgian independent renewable energy group Electrawinds.
Created in 1998, Electrawinds operates in Belgium and Italy and has invested a total of E100 million in renewable energy projects. The energy firm currently has 45MW of installed capacity in wind and biomass energy, with plans to add a further 400MW of energy generation. The investment from 3i will help fund additional wind and biomass projects across Europe.
The company currently has branches in Portugal, Greece, Romania, Bulgaria and Africa. The investment will allow these activities to be expanded.
Electrawinds is a great example of where 3i’s local relationships come together with the deep sector knowledge from our oil, gas & power team. Through our international network and sector focus, we will be able to add significant value to Electrawinds by finding and introducing potential development opportunities, non executive directors and corporate partners, said Mark Kerr, director of 3i’s oil, gas & power team. We see Electrawinds as an excellent platform from which to build a substantial renewable energy business.
The worldwide renewable energy market has an estimated value of E100 billion and has grown at a rate of 5% each year for the past five years.