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The Danish Green Investment Fund and European Energy strengthen ties

Nov 27, 2020

Leading Danish renewables developer European Energy has been granted a EUR 40 million loan facility by the Danish Green Investment Fund to help boost the construction of large scale wind and solar projects.

European Energy has long been a major player within the market of renewables both in Denmark and abroad. Since the beginning in 2004, European Energy has completed more than 100 wind and solar power projects totaling more than 1,6 GW of green energy production, with more than 500 MW just in Denmark.

The cooperation with the Danish Green Investment Fund will support the ambition of European Energy to construct 750 MW new green power capacity from solar and wind by 2021 and an additional 1 GW in 2022.

“We appreciate working together with the Danish Green Investment Fund, as their loan facility enables us at European Energy to accelerate the erection of renewable energy production in order to move faster on the mitigation of CO2-emissions. Most recently, we have seen the green light by the municipality of Aabenraa to build the biggest solar power facility in Northern Europe. This project will entail fixed asset investments totaling more than EUR 150 million and provide annual CO2-emissions reductions of more than 110.000 tons,” says Knud Erik Andersen, CEO at European Energy, and adds ”The project in Aabenraa is not the only project in our project pipeline of this size and scale, and the loan facility from the Danish Green Investment Fund is most appreciated in our efforts to construct as much additional renewable power production as possible in order to mitigate fossil fuels from our power production as fast as possible.”

While the Danish Green Investment Fund values the environmental performance of projects, all projects must also be commercially viable.

“European Energy’s business model ensures cohesion in the entire value chain of their wind and solar farms, and thereby the Danish society sees considerable amounts of fossil free power production. And the financial accomplishments of European Energy of recent years bear witness to a cost-effective business model. At the Danish Green Investment Fund we see European Energy as one of the leading Danish developers of big scale landbased solar and wind power projects, and we are pleased with our cooperation,” says Michael Zöllner, Managing Director at the Danish Green Investment Fund.

The Danish Green Investment Fund is one out of four public funds that have been provided additional funding to ensure investment for green businesses and entrepreneurs. Together with Vaekstfonden, the Danish state’s investment fund, the Danish Green Investment Fund has been strengthened by additional EUR 1,5 bn. But the potential is even bigger.

“When the Danish Green Investment Fund offers loans, it often works as levers for private investments. We often enter projects at an early stage and with a long term perspective, and in many cases it encourages banks and pension funds to join in. This way, a loan from our side can attract investments many times the size of the loan,” says Michael Zöllner.

 About European Energy

European Energy constructs wind and solar farms as well as large scale green energy storage.

Based in Copenhagen, Denmark, the company has a strong track record in the successful development, financing, construction and operation of wind and solar assets across its eleven countries of operation. Since the company’s inception in 2004, EE has delivered 1,153MW of Wind and 510 MW of Solar assets, totalling a cumulative investment of €2,290 million. EE’s current development pipeline totals 16GW across four phases – screening, development, ready-to-build and under construction – with 1GW in ready-to-build status and 242MW currently under construction. 5GW of the current pipeline consists of wind projects, 11GW is PV and 150MW is battery storage. EE’s building program for 2021 is 750MW, and the company’s ambition is to build another 1GW of projects in 2022.

About the Danish Green Investment Fund
The Danish Green Investment Fund is an independent public loan fund with the purpose to cofinance investment that advance the green transition of the Danish society. The fund builds bridges between traditional financial source and equity and operates with a green and commercial focus. Projects focus on renewable energy, energy savings and ressource efficiency.

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