Glennmont Partners has completed the purchase of the Margam Green Energy Project from ECO2 Ltd. and Western Logs Group on behalf of its dedicated clean energy fund, Glennmont Clean Energy Fund Europe II1 in a £160m deal. The Margam Green Energy Project will see a new biomass power generation plant built in Port Talbot, Wales, providing 40 MW of renewable energy to the Welsh and UK Energy market.
The plant was developed and will be managed by ECO2 Ltd., which has unique experience in developing, building and operating UK biomass plants. Fuel for the plant will be sourced from the waste wood market and will be supplied by Stobart Biomass Products Ltd under a long-term, indexed-linked fuel supply contract.
The completion of the deal marks the inclusion of the first biomass generation in Glennmont Clean Energy Fund Europe II and a significant step towards the completion of the diversified European portfolio of clean energy investment.
“Glennmont is demonstrating an excellent track record of being among the leading investors for producing value in difficult circumstances," said Joost Bergsma,
CEO of Glennmont Partners. "Margam is a great example of this and sends a strong message to the market that it is full steam ahead for us.”
The purchase and further construction of the
Margam Green Energy Project is being supported by debt arranged by Deutsche Bank with the support of Eksport Kredit Fonden (EKF), the export credit agency of Denmark.
“We are delighted to be involved in this important project that will deliver a new source of renewable energy to Wales and the UK," said Michael Volkermann, head of infrastructure and energy finance for EMEA at Deutsche Bank.
EKF helped Babcock Wilcox Volund A/S secure the contract for the Margam plant. (The deal marks EKF’s first biomass plant in the UK with Babcock Wilcox Volund A/S.)
"The project fits very well with EKF’s continued commitment to support renewable energy projects based on Danish technology," said Kim Richter, senior director for SME & Cleantech at EKF (Eksport Kredit Fonden). "We have been very pleased working with the professional partners involved in making this project possible.”
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- The Fund has already completed four deals in onshore wind and solar photovoltaics and with the addition of this innovative biomass transaction now has assets in France, UK and Portugal.