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*Ad hoc announcement pursuant to Art. 53 SIX Listing Rules
BKW is aiming to increase its portfolio of new renewable energies to more than one gigawatt (GW) of installed capacity by 2026, thus making a contribution to a sustainable energy future. It announced this goal at the Capital Markets Day at the end of October 2021. It is focusing on wind power and solar installations in Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Norway and Sweden.
Margarita Aleksieva, Head of the Wind & Solar business division says: “With the acquisition of six wind farms in the Somme region of northern France, BKW is taking a major step towards achieving its aims in the attractive area of wind power.” The wind farms were set up by French investment firms Mirova and RIVE Private Investment. They were put into operation between September 2018 and August 2021 and provide more than 250 GWh of green electricity to the grid each year. BKW is acquiring complete ownership of the installations, which will continue receiving contributions from the French subsidy scheme for renewable energies for at least another 10 years. The acquisition will enable synergies with current BKW activities in the field of wind energy in France. Following the acquisition, it will have a portfolio of 11 wind farms with around 170 MW of installed capacity in France.
Céline Lauverjat, Deputy Head of Mirova’s Energy Transition Infrastructure Funds, says: “We are proud to have built and operated more than 100MW renewable capacities that will now continue for years, under the care of BKW, to produce green electricity and participate to the achievement of the French Energy Transition targets” Pierre du Passage, Partner at RIVE Private Investment, adds: “We are delighted to have supported construction of the first grade renewable assets in the Somme region. In collaboration with Mirova and in line with the sustainability goals at RIVE Private Investment, we have been able to help achieve climate objectives and support the local economy.”
BKW operates the largest wind farm in Switzerland
Currently, there are wind installations with an installed capacity of 86.5 megawatts operating in Switzerland (overview). With the Juvent wind farm, BKW operates by far the largest installation in Switzerland (37.2 MW of installed capacity). With around 78 GWh of renewable energy, the Juvent wind farm supplied more than 60% of the green energy for the Swiss Energypark in 2021. BKW is pursuing two additional wind power projects in Switzerland:
- The “Prés de la Montagne – Montbautier” project in Mont-Tramelan (Canton of Bern) has successfully completed all approval processes to date. The Bern administrative court recently rejected objections against the land-use planning, though the opponents have now appealed against the judgement at the Federal Supreme Court. Only once the highest court has also rejected these objections can the project – which has already been in the making for more than 10 years – move on to the implementation phase, with its renewed potential for objections.
- The municipalities of Cortébert and Corgémont in Bern’s Jura mountains approved the Jeanbrenin project with more than 90% of the vote in June 2021. The canton of Bern, the federal government and the Stiftung Landschaftsschutz Schweiz (Swiss Foundation for Landscape Conservation) have spoken out in favour of the project. However, the group Verband Freie Landschaft Schweiz has announced that it intends to file an appeal against the planning and approvals processes now due to take place.