Macquarie’s Green Investment Group (GIG) today announced its second acquisition in Poland, buying the 48 MW onshore wind farm in Zajączkowo from J-Power Investment Netherlands B.V and Mitsui Renewable Energy Europe Limited.
The project is located approximately 10km south-west of the city of Slupsk and 110km north-west of Gdansk. The Zajączkowo wind farm comprises of 24 Vestas V80 turbines and is generating enough renewable electricity to power the equivalent of 38,367 homes. It has been operating for 11 years, having achieved a commercial operations date in September 2008.
This acquisition sees GIG continuing to build presence in a new market with strong fundamentals and significant growth potential for renewables.
Poland is the largest electricity market in Central Eastern Europe[1], but has one of the lowest shares of renewables in electricity generation in that part of Europe[2]. Electricity demand is predominantly met from an ageing fleet of coal and lignite power plants, and in time these plants will need to be replaced with new generating capacity – making renewables deployment increasingly important.
With this in mind, the Polish Government held auctions for onshore wind last year and is planning further such auctions for 2019, with an intention to secure a further 2.5GW of capacity[3].
Edward Northam, Head of GIG Europe, said: “Poland is one of Europe’s largest energy markets and one with considerable near-term potential for renewables development. As such, as we build our global footprint, it is critical for GIG to seek out opportunities in this region.”
GIG’s recent activity in Poland means that the business is now active in 11 countries across Europe, and 25 countries globally. Across Europe, Middle East and Africa, GIG has supported over 8 GW of operational capacity of renewables.
Macquarie Group, which owns GIG, is one of the world’s largest investors in renewable energy having invested or arranged over $A8 billion in FY19 in clean energy projects around the world. Macquarie has had a presence in the UK for 30 years, having opened its London headquarters in 1989. In the UK, the business has supported over 140 green energy projects.