Swiss firm Aravis Energy I LP realises first project sale on the Swiss market
Zurich, 4 May 2010 – Aravis Energy I LP (Aravis Energy), a Swiss venture capital firm based in Zurich, has sold the Swiss wind energy company LuciaWind AG to the utility company EBM, which is based in Münchenstein in the canton of Baselland. LuciaWind AG operates a 42-megawatt wind farm in Spain. The farm, which has 14 3-megawatt wind turbines, supplies electricity for over 22,000 Swiss households and thus avoids 86,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions per year.
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The wind farm is situated in Andalusia on Spain’s Atlantic coast and is one of the projects in Aravis Energy’s portfolio. Aravis Energy is the first Swiss venture capital firm to focus on the development and realisation of projects in the renewable energies sector. The purchase of the wind farm makes EBM one of the largest Swiss wind farm owners. The investment volume is over 100 million Swiss francs.
Oliver Thalmann, Aravis Energy’s managing partner, believes that there is an increasing demand in the Swiss energy market for electricity from European wind farms and solar energy farms: “There are interesting projects – particularly in countries such as Italy and Spain – which could be of significance for Swiss utility companies wishing to maintain a balanced and sustainable energy mix. However, in order to select the right project, one needs not only a sound knowledge of the industry and finance, but also detailed information regarding the local conditions.” In the coming years, Aravis experts plan to realise other wind and solar energy projects where the output power will exceed 100 megawatts.
Hans Büttiker, CEO of EBM, regards the sale as a logical step in EBM’s “two-pronged” approach in relation to energy production: “In light of the liberalisation of the electricity markets we are using the opportunities currently available to secure new sources for the long-term supply of energy to our networks and at the same time to meet our customers’ growing demand for environmentally friendly energies.”
About Aravis Energy I LP:
Aravis Energy I LP is an independent Swiss enterprise, founded in 2008, whose purpose is to provide venture capital financing for renewable energies. It invests in projects and power plants in the renewable energies sector, i.e., in wind farms, solar parks and photovoltaic plants. Its focus is on plants in Switzerland and the rest of Europe. Aravis Energy I LP, a limited partnership for collective investment schemes, is the first “limited partnership” to be granted approval by the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) under the new Collective Investment Schemes Act.
