Orites, the first private sector power project on the island, is also the first to benefit from the new 20 year fixed rate tariff that has recently been approved by the Government of the Republic of Cyprus and the European Commission.
The wind farm is located on the Orites Mountain, in the South West of the Republic of Cyprus, 30km from Pathos, and will consist of 41 Vestas V90 2 MW machines spread over a 16 Km2 site.
Debt financing with an 18 year repayment profile for the project has been arranged by Commerzbank AG (Commerzbank), ING Bank N.V. (ING) and NORD/LB Norddeutsche Landesbank (NORD/LB), with European Investment Bank (EIB) providing 50% of the debt funding under a conventional project finance structure.
Construction is expected to begin in September 2009, with operations scheduled to start at the end of 2010.
With this investment, Platina has now financed over 200 MW of wind and solar projects and continues to develop additional projects within its pipeline of over 1000 MW across Europe.
Platina is involved in over 20 wind energy projects at various stages of development across Europe and it intends to finance a further 150 MW of renewable energy projects from its development portfolio during the course of 2009/10.
Emma Collins of Platina said: The financing of this project is an important milestone in the continuing expansion of Platina s development portfolio. The predictable nature of the project s cashflows demonstrates that even in tight credit markets there is always debt available for the best projects.
Norton Rose managed all the due diligence work and acted as lenders counsel, with Hunton and Williams acting for Platina.
Heiko Ludvig of Nord/LB said: Delivering the first of its kind in any country requires strong support from the government to ensure that appropriate frameworks are put in place to encourage private sector investment. The Government of the Republic of Cyprus has delivered an excellent support scheme which should encourage further projects on the island.
Michael Scheepens of ING said: Providing debt finance for the first renewable energy project in a country is always an exciting challenge and we are delighted to have been able to participate in this project.
Christian Renke and Christian Schultz of Commerzbank, the agent and account bank for the project, said: We are delighted to support Platina in the financing of this project and recognise that the technical and financial skills of the Platina team ensures that they deliver well structured projects.
Emmanouel Marroulakis of EIB said: Providing financing for the first renewable energy project in the Republic of Cyprus is exactly in line with the EIB s strategy of tackling climate change through the promotion of renewable energy projects. We are delighted to support this project and enable the Republic of Cyprus to take a major step in meeting the Government s 2010 Renewable Energy Sources Action Plan, which is in line with the EU Renewable Electricity Directive.
Platina is a private equity fund advisor in renewable energy and buyouts in turnaround situations.
