(London) – Aviva Investors, the global asset management business of Aviva plc (‘Aviva’), has announced that it has, on behalf of Aviva UK Life’s annuity business, provided financing towards the purchase of offshore transmission operator assets (“OFTO”) from Galloper Wind Farm Ltd by Diamond Transmission Partners.
(London) – Aviva Investors, the global asset management business of Aviva plc (‘Aviva’), has announced that it has, on behalf of Aviva UK Life’s annuity business, provided financing towards the purchase of offshore transmission operator assets (“OFTO”) from Galloper Wind Farm Ltd by Diamond Transmission Partners.
Galloper Wind Farm, owned by innogy SE, Siemens Financial Services, Sumitomo, ESB, Green Inve stment Group and Macquarie Infrastructure and Real Assets (“MIRA”), is a 353MW asset located approximately 27km from the Suffolk coast. It consists of 56 6.3MW wind turbine generators, which together can produce enough energy to power 380,000 homes in the UK.
Diamond Transmission Partners will operate the transmission assets that connect the wind farm to the onshore grid network.
Aviva Investors’ financing of the Galloper OFTO deal builds on its existing portfolio of offshore wind assets and renewable energy investments, having provided £400 million to help fund the construction of the world’s largest offshore windfarm, Hornsea 1, in 2018.
Last year, its Infrastructure Debt team provided senior debt financing towards new train fleets for both Abellio UK’s East Midlands Railway franchise and the West Coast Partnership rail franchise in the UK, both of which deliver rail services at substantially lower carbon emissions relative to existing rolling stock.
Sinéad Walshe, Director, Infrastructure Debt at Aviva Investors, said:
“Galloper is essential for continuing the delivery of renewable energy to the UK mainland, supporting the wider global drive for carbon efficiency. We are delighted to have supported this scheme, which builds on our appetite for infrastructure projects that have a positive environmental impact. We believe it will deliver sustainable performance to the overall portfolio and, importantly, provide long-term stable returns for our clients.”
Tom Ground, Managing Director of Aviva Annuities & Equity Release, said:
“Our annuity business is proud that it finances over £15 billion of social infrastructure across the UK and abroad. An increasing proportion of these investments support renewable energy projects and other lower-carbon technologies, consistent with the UK’s commitment to becoming a net-zero carbon economy as well as Aviva’s own commitment to being a net-zero emissions asset owner by 2050. We are very pleased to be supporting DTC in its acquisition of the Galloper Wind Farm’s transmission assets.”