Allianz buys three wind energy parks in France, Italy

Allianz Capital Partners has acquired three wind parks in Europe on behalf of Allianz in France and Italy, the company announced this week.

In the Pas-de-Calais administrative region in northern France, ACP bought the 8-megawatt “Frévent” project and the 12-megawatt “Ivergny” project. Both of those projects are currently under construction with expected completion dates during the first half of 2014, Allianz said.

In southern Italy, ACP bought the “Erchie” wind farm project in the Puglia region. It has a capacity of 30 megawatts and has been in operation since December 2012. The seller was the renewable energy development company Eneris SA.

With a combined capacity of 50 megawatts, the three plants are expected to generate sufficient energy to power more than 28,000 average European households, Allianz said.

“We are very pleased about these additional assets in our portfolio and that we are able to continue on our growth path,” noted David Jones, head of renewable energy at Allianz Capital Partners.

“The acquisition of these wind parks takes our investment in renewables to 1.7 billion euros, further consolidating Allianz’s position as one of the world’s leading financial investors in renewable energy.”

For the first half of this year, Allianz in central and eastern Europe reported an operating profit of 123 million euros, down from 128 million euros in the first half of last year. Its second quarter was heavily impacted by severe weather and flooding throughout the region, which led to more than 3,000 claims in the Czech Republic alone, the company noted.

Photo: The “Erchie” wind farm project in the Puglia regionof southern Italy. (Source: Allianz)