NeXtWind, a green independent power producer (IPP) focused on the repowering and lifetime extension of European clean energy assets, has made three strategic investments in wind energy projects in Northern Germany, totalling over USD50 million.
The acquisitions were made in the first six months after the company’s debut fundraising round, where it secured USD100 million from institutional backers and family offices.
The projects across Lower Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt encompass 34 turbines, with a combined capacity of 70MW and an average age of 14 years. NeXtWind will keep the energy transition moving forwards by rejuvenating the sites with new, more efficient technology, almost tripling their annual output from just above 100 to roughly 300 GWh/year – enough to power close to 100,000 households.
These early acquisitions indicate significant momentum behind NeXtWind’s strategy to source, acquire and rejuvenate ‘teenage’ wind parks that are reaching the end of their regulatory life. Since NeXtWind’s launch in February 2021, the team has successfully deployed over half of its initial capital raised from established sustainability investors including Crestline Investors, Ferd and ARB Investment Partners.
Lars Meyer, Chief Investment Officer at NeXtWind, says: “We’re off to a flying start as we progress towards our strategic goal of acquiring, rejuvenating and operating a 1GW portfolio of clean energy assets. Ownership of these aging project sites, particularly in Germany, is highly fragmented, so strong local market relationships are essential for sourcing and successfully executing investment opportunities.
“During these first acquisitions, our origination team has successfully closed not only with established onshore wind development businesses, but also with an array of private investors demonstrating our differentiated ability to source off-market deals. We’ll continue to draw on these relationships as we take the projects through permitting and development, PPA negotiations, and into long-term operation.”
NeXtWind is now working with its local partners to bring its first projects to fruition, with lifetime extension and repowering work across all three sites due for completion between 2024 and 2026. Meanwhile, as the projects move off the state Feed-in Tariff (FiT), long-term Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) are being negotiated with leading European utilities as offtakers to stabilise future revenues.
With a number of further German sites under consideration, the business expects to deploy the remainder of its initial capital allocation over the next 12 months, in parallel with fundraising to enable a second phase of investments in Germany and across Europe.
