Downing Renewables & Infrastructure (DORE) has announced that it has exchanged contracts to acquire two operational portfolios of hydropower plants located in central Sweden for a total consideration of approximately €25m. The first is a circa 12 GWh portfolio of hydropower plants from ÄSI Kraft AB located in the SE3 electricity pricing zone for approximately €6m and a circa 36 GWh portfolio located in the SE2 zone for approximately €19m from AB Edsbyn Elverk. The acquisitions have been largely funded through drawdown on its Downing Hydro AB (DHAB) Swedish hydropower portfolio debt facility signed in November 2021. The acquisitions are expected to close within a week and will increase the total number of DORE’s managed Swedish hydropower plants to 17 (with a total annual average production of circa 157 GWh). The newly acquired hydropower plants acquired will be integrated into the existing portfolio of hydropower plants in Sweden owned by Downing Hydro AB and will support DORE’s strategy, which focuses on diversification by geography, technology, revenue and project stage.
About the new hydropower portfolios
The first portfolio comprises five hydropower plants located on three different rivers in central Sweden, which has an expected annual average production of approximately 12 GWh of electricity. DORE says that the sites also benefit from a long operational history and are located in the county of Dalarna, central Sweden, in the “attractive SE3 price area”.
The second portfolio includes four run-of-river hydropower plants situated on a single river in central Sweden. The portfolio has an expected annual average production of approximately 36 GWh of electricity. These sites also benefit from a long operational history and were refurbished between 2010 and 2013. The hydropower plants are located in and around the Swedish town Edsbyn in central Sweden.
Comments from Tom Williams, Partner, Head of Energy and Infrastructure at Downing LLP
“We are pleased to expand our hydropower portfolio in Sweden. These attractive acquisitions will increase DORE’s hydropower production by just under 50% and add three more directly controlled storage reservoirs in SE3 and benefit from further seasonal storage reservoirs in SE2. They will also allow DORE to benefit from the economies of scale that come with further growth. Hydropower is often forgotten as a source of renewable power, but it will be key part of the energy transition as it is possible to hold energy back in the reservoirs and sell when supply from renewable sources elsewhere is low. This helps reduce price volatility and maximises the value of the energy stored for end users and our investors.”