Portfolio financing for 14 projects

Investment company Babcock & Brown, which manages a global wind fund, and Eurowatt, a privately held investment company managing a portfolio of renewable energy assets, have appointed the Portuguese and French investment banks Caixa BI and Natexis Banques Populaires to structure the financing of two French wind project portfolios totalling EUR 183 million. The umbrella financing will initially cover the construction of 14 wind plant totalling 120 MW while allowing for further assets to be added in future. The first tranche of 14 fully permitted plant are in the northern Pas-de-Calais, Nord, Somme and Aisne départements. Eneria, a French engineering and electrical company, will build, operate and maintain them, while Spanish Gamesa will supply the turbines. Eurowatt will work on the portfolios together with Enersis, the Portuguese subsidiary of Babcock & Brown with Europe-wide renewable energy assets. The two companies are also co-developing a further 350-400 MW of projects in Europe.