Alternative investment manager Gresham House has acquired a windfarm from a global renewable energy developer, service provider and wholesaler for its British Strategic Investment Fund.
The windfarm, named Wathegar 2, represents the fourth investment for the Fund, which has £165 million of commitments from investors, including the UK’s local government pension schemes. It made its first investment in December 2017 in an energy storage project.
“The project is close to the Wathegar 1 wind farm which is also managed by Gresham House Asset Management,” explained Ben Guest, lead manager of the fund.
“Both wind farms enjoy high capacity factors typical of north east Scotland. We look forward to realising the significant long-term value that we see in this project.”
News of the deal follows significant interest in renewable energy projects this year, with UK renewable energy capacity having surpassed fossil fuels for the first time in 2018, according to a report by The Guardian.
In October, a research report by Cambridge Associates found that renewable energy storage and renewable power development had been the two top performing sectors for clean teach investors since the millennium.
The British Strategic Investment Fund is a closed-ended investment fund with a 12 year time horizon, investing in housing and infrastructure.
Gordon MacDougall, managing director of Baywa Re, the company from which Gresham House bought the windfarm, said this sale showed how his company’s projects were assisting the UK’s transition to renewable energy sources.
The acquired windfarm has a capacity of 18.45 megawatts comprising nine 2.05 megawatt Senvion turbines.
