The 100% Finnish consortium formed by HELEN Oy, energy company owned by the city of Helsinki, and and the Bank of Åland Wind Power Fund Non-UCITS, an open-ended alternative investment fund investing in wind power, has acquired from VALOREM, an independent green energy operator, Kalistanneva wind farm with a total installed capacity of 165 MW.
This wind farm, located in the region of Ostrobothnia in Finland, will host 30 wind turbines with a unit capacity of 5.5 MW. This wind farm will supply the equivalent of the electricity consumption of a 60,000 household town each year.
The Kalistanneva wind farm forms part of the larger VIIATTI project which is also comprised of the 148.5MW Matkussaari wind farm, for which VALOREM will retain full control. Together both wind farms will generate c. 1TWh which represents around 1.2% of Finnish annual electricity consumption.
VALOREM, a pioneering green energy operator in France, has been working in Finland for several years: “With already 385 MW of construction permits obtained and a projects pipeline of more than 500 MW, Finland represents for VALOREM an important land of growth and geographical diversification. We have been developing wind energy projects in Finland since 2014, with a strong and growing local team based in Helsinki and we intend to further strengthen our presence in this country,” says Nicolas BERARD, Director of International Development at VALOREM.
Helen Oy is a world-class expert in energy and one of the biggest energy companies in in Finland. Helen aims for carbon-neutral energy production by 2030. Antti Sallilla, Helen’s Senior Vice President, Strategy, Mergers and Acquisitions comments: “The acquisition of Kalistanneva wind farm with our partner Bank of Åland’s Wind Power Fund is an important step in Helen’s path towards carbon-neutrality and continues our strategy to increase our wind power production, which will now be above 1.5 TWh annually after the Kalistanneva farm starts production.”
The Bank of Ålands’s Wind Power Fund is the only open-ended fund in Finland investing in wind, and Kalistanneva wind farm is the second investment of the fund. “Investing in the large-size wind farm of Kalistanneva together with Helen presents an excellent opportunity to our investors to benefit from the value of the growing Finnish wind power market. The investment is also perfectly aligned with our target to increase the domestic ownership of wind farms in Finland”, says Juha KÄNKÄNEN, Investment Director at Ålandsbanken Funds.
The windfarm has been locally developed by the Finnish developer Megatulli in partnership with VALOREM and is part of the overall VIATTI project (315 MW expected). It will be built by Suvic (BOP); VALREA, a subsidiary of VALOREM (CMA); ELTEL (Power Lines) and WICO (O&M Power Lines). The works will start in April 2022 with an estimated commissioning in January 2025.
The VALOREM Group, HELEN and the Bank of Åland would like to thank the numerous advisors who have made this project successful: Augusta & Co (Financial Advisor); White & Case (Legal Advisor); Krogerus (Legal Due Diligence); ESTER (Hedge Advisor); EY (Tax Advisor); DNV (Technical Advisor); Marsh (Insurance Advisor); Our New Energy (Off-take Advisor), ELRON (Consortium Financial Advisor); Castrén & Snellman (Consortium Legal advisor); Ramboll and Etha Wind (Consortium Technical Advisor).
Press contact:
Camille GIRARD – Communication Manager VALOREM
0646307185 – camille.girard@www-old.valorem-energie.com
Vilma Wiitakorpi Björkman – Head of Communications, Helen Oy
+358 50 308 0879 – vilma.wiitakorpi-bjorkman@helen.fi
Juha Känkänen – Investment Director Ålandsbanken Funds
358 40 348 5340 – juha.kankanen@alandsbanken.fi
The VALOREM group is an independent French operator in the field of green energy. It masters the entire process of renewable energy development, from development to operation and maintenance, including project management assistance, construction and auditing services. A pioneer in wind energy in France, with more than 360 employees, VALOREM is also present in the French West Indies, Colombia, Finland and Greece. The group manages more than 550 MW in production and has a portfolio of more than 5.5 GW of in-development projects.
VALOREM is certified ISO 9001 – quality, ISO 14001 – environment, and ISO 45001 – occupational health and safety.
More information on: www-old.valorem-energie.com
More information: www.helen.fi
About ALANDSBANKEN
The Bank of Åland is a Finland-based bank with strong customer relationships and personalized service. The Bank has extensive financial investment expertise and at the same time can offer good financing services. The commercial bank was founded in 1919 and has been listed on the Nasdaq Helsinki Oy (Helsinki Stock Exchange) since 1942. Ålandsbanken Funds Ltd is the fund management subsidiary of Bank of Åland Plc.
More information: www.alandsbanken.fi