Dutch pension investor APG has increased its investment in Norwegian hydropower company Småkraft with EUR 250 million through its partnership with Aquila Capital. With this investment, APG on behalf of its pension fund client ABP, has invested to a total of EUR 550 million in the company. Småkraft has the ambition to produce 2 TWh of electricity production annually by 2022, with the growth coming from new run-of-river plants and by acquiring existing plants. This additional capital enables Småkraft to expand its portfolio of small-scale hydropower plants in Norway and enables the construction of 10 new small-scale hydropower plants every year, increasing the generation of renewables by 130 GWh per year. Ultimately this will provide enough renewable energy for the equivalent of 570,000 European households.
By expanding the mandate with Aquila Capital, APG facilitates the increase of renewable power in the European energy mix. In a statement announcing the transaction Patrick Kanters, Managing Director Global Real Assets at APG said: “As a pension investor, we are continuously looking for attractive infrastructure investments worldwide that help us realize long-term and responsible returns for ABP and other pension fund clients we work for. Over the last years, we have made significant progress in realizing our pension fund clients’ stated ambitions in the areas of sustainability and responsible investment. At the end of 2019, we had € 5.8 billion invested in renewable energy. By increasing our commitment to Småkraft, we are enabling the European energy transition from fossil fuels and contribute to reducing carbon emissions, in line with the ambitions of our pension fund clients. Aquila Capital, with its on-the-ground knowledge and recognized track record on hydro, has proven to be a strong partner for APG.”
Roman Rosslenbroich, CEO and co-founder of Aquila Capital stated: “We are delighted to expand the partnership with APG to support Småkraft to grow in the years to come. As we increase the share of renewables in Europe, Norwegian hydropower and the building of interconnections to other countries play a vital role to bring stability to the electricity grid.”
APG and Aquila Capital started their partnership in 2014. The announcement of today builds on the existing commitment of EUR 300 million to hydropower.
With 110 operational plants, Bergen-based Småkraft is the largest operator of small hydropower plants in Europe with nearly 1.2 TWh of production annually. APG is the majority shareholder of Småkraft.