Case Studies / Onshore Wind

Nysäter Onshore Wind Farm

Nysäter Wind consists of two wind park projects, Hästkullen (307 MW) and Björnlandhöjden (167 MW), located near the city of Sundsvall in Sweden.

Project Overview

Investment Year: 2018
Ownership Stake: 80%
Technology: 114 Nordex Wind Turbine Generators (104 x N149/4.0-4.5 and ten x N131/3900)
Industrial Partner: RWE

Energy Infrastructure Partners joined RWE Renewables (formerly E.ON) to finance the project before construction began in 2019. The project was developed by RWE, a leading European utility company and a global player in on- and offshore wind, who remain co-investor with a 20% stake in the project.

With the benefit of owner-incentivized attention to wind farm performance and technical integrity, RWE is the operations and maintenance (O&M) service provider, under a responsibility regime that aligns incentives and mitigates both construction and operational risks.

Nysäter Wind Farm

A power purchase agreement stabilizes cash flows and enables long-term project financing

Power purchase agreements, or PPAs, lessen volatility risk from the electricity market by allowing for the sale of a portion of the asset’s future electricity production to a third party over a fixed number of years or decades at a pre-set price, resulting in the stabilization of cash flows. Working closely with a third party to develop a pay-as-produced power purchase agreement for Nysäter Wind resulted in an improved risk/return structure.

Generating electricity for hundreds of thousands of homes

Nysäter Wind supports Sweden’s renewable energy targets as it works to become a “fossil-free” nation. Sweden has the highest share of renewable energy in the European Union, with renewable sources constituting more than 60% of total installed power generation capacity.

Although hydropower makes up the largest portion of renewable energy in Sweden, wind power is rapidly growing thanks to the availability of dependable wind speeds along the coastline.

Nysäter Wind will contribute to Sweden’s targets by producing enough energy to power as many as 300,000 homes per year1.

In addition, advances in wind turbine technology have dramatically increased efficiency during the past decade. In 2014 and 2015, the original permits for Nysäter Wind were granted with an anticipated scope of 150 turbines.

However, studies showed that by using more powerful turbines with efficient technology and increased hub heights, the same level of output could be achieved with only 114 WTGs.

1Assuming an annual average household consumption of 5000 kWh.