Macquarie signs wind deal with European metals giant

Australian investment bank Macquarie Group, through its Green Investment Group, has signed a deal to supply power to mining and metals company Eramet Norway from two Norwegian wind farms.

Macquarie’s Green Investment Group (GIG) – which it acquired from the UK Government back in early 2017 – announced last week that it had entered into two long-term Power Purchase Agreements with Eramet Norwy, a subsidiary of French mining and metallurgical company Eramet boasting smelters in Porsgrunn, Sauda, and Kvinesdal, as well as a R&D department in Trondheim.

Power for the company’s Norwegian smelters will come from Macquarie Green Investment Group’s two Norwegian wind farms – the 47MW Tysvær Wind Farm, which will become operational in 2021, and the 69 MW Buheii Wind Farm currently being developed by Nordisk Vindkraft.

The GIG announced as part of their agreement with Eramet Norway that it was acquiring the Buheii Wind Farm from Nordisk Vindkraft, which currently remains subject to certain completion conditions.

Both wind farms will supply power to Eramet Norway’s processing plants through to 2038.

“We are pleased our Norwegian wind farms will be able to deliver a predictable power supply to Eramet Norway, and we look forward to strengthening our role as an important partner for Norwegian industry,” said Edward Northam, Head of GIG Europe.

“With our ambitions to be in the forefront of industrial development in Norway, we need access to renewable energy,” added Bjørn Kolbjørnsen, CEO of Eramet Norway. “The agreement with GIG is therefore an important contribution to our power portfolio.”

The announcement is a big step forward for both companies as they seek to consolidate their standing as green giants in their respective fields.

Formed by the UK Government in 2012, the Green Investment Group was the first institution of its type in the world, specialising in green infrastructure principal investment, project deliver, and management of portfolio assets.

Since 2012, and being acquired by Macquarie in 2017, the Green Investment Group is one of Europe’s largest teams of dedicated green infrastructure investors.

Further, Macquarie Group itself is one of the world’s largest investors in renewable energy and has invested or arranged for over $A8 billion in Financial Year 2019 for clean energy projects around the world.

Macquarie Group announced back in September plans to develop a massive portfolio of clean energy projects and a goal of investing in 20 GW of new projects around the planet.

The company followed that up two months later by committing to purchase all of its electricity from renewable energy sources by 2025 and joining the RE100 initiative.

“Macquarie will seek to develop projects to supply the green energy for its new Sydney headquarters and Melbourne office. Macquarie has been carbon neutral in sourcing its energy supply since 2010 through the purchase of carbon credits,” the bank said in a statement last November.

Eramet Norway is a world leading manufacturer of manganese alloys – a vital ingredient in the production of high-quality steel – and boasts one of the smallest climate footprints in its industry.

Boasting an annual electricity demand of more than 2 TWh per annum, Eramet Norway relies on long-term and predictable power conditions to ensure stable and efficient operation of its smelting plants.

The move also serves to support Norway’s climate goals of becoming a low-emission society in 2050 and reducing its greenhouse gas emissions by at least 40% by 2030 (compared to 1990 levels).