AQUILA MERGE NORWAY’S SMÅKRAFT AND NORSK
GRØNNKRAFT Aquila Capital has reinforced its commitment to Norway by planning to merge Småkraft and Norsk Grønnkraft (NGK), to create the leading operator in the country’s hydropower market and the largest operator of small-scale hydropower plants in Europe.
The merger, which is expected to be effective from January 2017, reflects Aquila Capital’s active asset management approach and underlines the company’s ambition for the expansion of its renewable energy portfolio in Norway. The two companies are wholly financed by Aquila Capital’s investment vehicles, including its dedicated European Hydropower Fund as well as that of the Dutch partner APG, the asset manager of ABP, one of Europe’s largest pension funds investing in hydropower assets.
The newly created entity will be known as Småkraft and consist of 90 hydropower plants in operation with an annual production of just under 1 TWh. Simultaneously, a separate company, Småkraft Utbygging, will be formed to solely focus on the construction and rehabilitation of small-scale hydropower plants.
Sigbjørn Rabbe, Head of Operations at Småkraft AS, said: “Aquila Capital is committed to sustainable operations and growth in the Norwegian hydropower market. As well as the obvious natural resources in the country there is a deep pool of local expertise to manage the plants, which we use at every opportunity. We are determined to build the trust of local communities, adding value and ensuring the highest standards of safety and respect for the environment while at the same time recognising the landowner’s rights.”
Michaela M. Eder von Grafenstein, Head of Investment Management
ALMACH FIRST TO GAIN
B CORPTM STATUS Almach Energy has become the first UK energy consultancy to achieve B Corporation status, a certification that involves a rigorous assessment of all aspects of the organisation, including social and environmental performance, accountability and transparency, making it a legal pledge to adhere to.
B Corps are for-profit companies certified by the non-profit B Lab, which uses the power of business to solve social and environmental problems. B Corp certification is to business what ‘Fair Trade certification’ is to coffee or Organic certification is to milk
This follows the recent award of an Ethical Accreditation, a scheme administered by The Ethical Company Organisation; whose aim is to set strong ethical standards to support consumer confidence by
Real Assets at Aquila Capital, commented: “The merger comes at a time when institutional investors’ interest in renewable energy is increasing significantly. Our scale, expertise and extensive field of contacts mean we are the go-to partner in Norway’s hydropower sector. We are
measuring the 15 key ethical criteria of participating organisations. The accreditation encourages poor performing companies to improve their ethical records and rewards those companies that are setting the highest ethical standards.
“The B Corp ethos is perfectly aligned with our mission and social responsibility targets; this certification reiterates our strong commitment to the environment, clients and people we work with” said Juan Pablo Cerda, Managing Director of Almach Energy.
Almach Energy aims to lead by example in the areas of renewable energy procurement and high ethical business standards to achieve their target of migrating as many UK businesses as possible to clean renewable energy contracts, thereby supporting future clean generation projects.
www.almach.co.uk
looking forward to contributing to the further growth of renewable energy in Norway.”
To date Aquila Capital manages over 100 hydropower plants with an installed capacity of approximately 400 MW.
www.aquila-capital.de/en
06 | WHAT'S NEW?
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