By Josie Le Blond

The Jädraås wind farm, located 220km north of Stockholm, utilises the 175-metre-high Vestas V112 turbine - currently the tallest commercial onshore wind turbine. The 66-turbine project will generate sufficient electricity to power 150,000 homes, said Platina.

Equity finance for the project was provided 50% by Arise and 50% by Platina from Platina Energy III LP and a dedicated structure through which Eurofideme 2 invested, said Platina.

Debt financing was led by DNB with additional funding from Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken and, through an innovative funding package, PensionDanmark, whose stake was guaranteed by the Danish Government-backed EKF.

Platina said the project is the first time that a pension fund has been involved in the debt financing of a renewables development in a merchant power market and has created a template for other wind projects.

Jädraås will take advantage of Sweden’s green certificate program through which the Government aims to generate 49% of its electricity from renewable sources by 2020, up from 39% in 2005. This includes a target of 4.5GW from onshore wind developments.

“As the largest wind farm in the Nordics this project is important for Sweden, providing a meaningful step towards its 2020 renewables targets,” said Emma Collins, a Managing Partner in Platina’s Energy team. “Jädraås has also created a model which allows pension funds to invest in this asset class with confidence and we have now seen other pension funds enter the market using similar structures.”