BKW
Wind
Acquisition of Fresnoy Brancourt Wind Farm
Bern (ots)
BKW has signed the contract to purchase the Fresnoy Brancourt Wind Farm. Situated three kilometres from the small town of Fresnoy-le-Grand in Picardy (northern France), it has a total capacity of 13.8 MW. This is BKW's first involvement in the wind power sector in France and the company is thereby reinforcing its leading position in Switzerland in the operation of wind-powered generating plants both in Switzerland and abroad.
The purchase agreement between BKW and a fund managed by Impax Asset Management was signed on 31 July 2015 and the completion is estimated at the end of August 2015. The six wind turbines on the farm have been operational since December 2014 and will produce nearly 37.5 gigawatt-hours of electricity per annum, which equates to the annual consumption of nearly 5,800* households. With its acquisition of Fresnoy Brancourt Wind Farm, BKW is entering the French new renewables market and expanding its production of carbon-neutral energy. BKW has its own wind power portfolio of a total installed capacity of nearly 400 MW, with an annual production of nearly 625 gigawatt-hours. In total, BKW owns 206 wind turbines, 73 of which are in Germany (140 MW), 117 in Italy (235 MW), 16 in Switzerland (19 MW) and now 6 in France (13.8 MW). In addition to that, it holds shares in Helvetic Wind's wind farms in Germany and Italy.
The total value of the transaction has not been disclosed.
* Average household consumption in France is 6,500 kWh/a.
Contact:
Gilles Seuret
media@bkw.ch
058 477 51 07