Eurowind Energy has already been doing well since the company, headquartered in Hobro in northern Jutland, was founded in 2006. The company has now grown to operate wind and solar parks with a total capacity of 1.5 gigawatts and 650 employees.
But with the capital injection from investment giant Blackstone, which was announced on Wednesday, the company's development has been accelerated further, explains chairman Gert Vinther Jørgensen.
- We have reached a point where more money is required if we are to continue the development of renewable energy in Europe. With Blackstone, we are getting an owner who is probably the largest infrastructure investor in the world, and who is also the largest developer of renewable energy in the United States. So they bring competence, while of course also bringing flexible capital that can be activated when needed, says Gert Vinther Jørgensen, CEO of Norlys, which is a co-owner of Eurowind Energy.
He will not say what exactly Blackstone has paid for the 24.7 percent of Eurowind Energy that the company will own in the future. But Blackstone has not used the entire mandate of 2 million euros that the company has allocated for the investment. The rest can be activated later if the need arises.
Blackstone believes in Eurowind Energy's track record
When the Americans have thrown their love specifically at Eurowind Energy, according to Gert Vinther Jørgensen, it is probably because the Danish company has both delivered results in the past and has clear plans for the future.
- We own plants in 16 European countries today, while we have projects underway in nine countries here and now. We have a business plan in place and know exactly what we want. So instead of having to go out and buy regional players around Europe, they buy into a platform that can be scaled immediately and has shown that it can be done. And they also buy into people and the existing management, which has shown that it can make things happen, says the chairman of the board.
His impression is also that Blackstone has bought into the expectation of increased electricity consumption in Europe due to the ongoing electrification and the data centers that are on the way.
In any case, the opportunity has now opened up for the construction of new energy parks to begin. However, Gert Vinther Jørgensen cannot say exactly where it will be.
- It is mostly a question of when we will get the necessary permits in the individual locations and what it looks like to be connected to the electricity grid. And then we develop in the order in which the opportunities arise. We also have projects that we would like to develop in Denmark, if we get the permits in place, he says.
/ritzau/
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