Platina Partners

NordLB, Banco Santander, BNP Paribas and NIBC will finance the private equity firm’s solar and wind projects in Spain and the UK.

The PE fund manager has launched Engineering Renewables Ltd to oversee the management of its renewable energy funds. ERL will manage Platina’s renewables portfolio with assets across the UK, Spain, Greece, Italy and Cyprus.

Platina Partners has completed the financing for a project to develop the first wind farm in Cyprus, with the European Investment Bank providing half of the debt.

After a promising start to its latest fundraising, tough market conditions have forced the Paris- and London-based firm to lengthen the fundraising period for its €250m renewables fund.

Development financing for two Andalucían photovoltaic plants brings to three the number of Spanish solar portfolio companies held by the renewable energy investments specialist. The debt financings were made from the firm's second fund dedicated to continental Europe.

Cost-effective, readily available and operating against a highly favourable regulatory backdrop – no surprise that wind energy has continued to attract investment amid economic turmoil.

Renewable energy is already worth over $150 billion a year to private financiers, and could grow four times as big as countries try to slash carbon emissions. Matilda Battersby reports

Each firm has purchased a photovoltaic plant that has an attractive government-backed feed-in tariff. The tariff – which locked in multi-year fixed rates for projects connected to the power grid from September 2007 to September 2008 – fuelled a solar development boom in Spain.

The firms are among six private equity investors that have participated in SolarReserve’s secong round of financing.