BayWa r.e. adds 148.5 MW of wind energy to its asset management portfolio

Located across the UK, the wind farms have a combined installed capacity of 148.5 MW, which includes the 109 MW Beinneun windfarm in Scotland able to generate enough power for over 27,000 homes.

Oliver Niedhöfer, Managing Director of BayWa r.e. Operation Services Limited, commented: “We are very pleased to have been successful in a competitive tender and won the mandate to manage these windfarms for Octopus. This new contract builds on our existing relationship with Octopus, as we already operate their 29.7 MW Fraisthorpe wind farm, a project which BayWa r.e. built and sold to Octopus in 2016.

“As one of the largest providers of technical and commercial services for solar and wind farms in the UK, we are aligned in support of Octopus’ growth strategy. Performing the role of strategic partner for their operations, we ensure investments achieve their energy generation potential by optimising asset efficiency, and that all our work is delivered within a very safe working environment.”

The addition of the wind farms continues BayWa r.e.’s strong growth within the UK market taking its serviced portfolio up to over 1.3 GW. It also follows the purchase of UK based renewable energy service provider, Becon Consultancy. A leading service provider, Becon, strengthens BayWa r.e.’s capability for high voltage maintenance and switching services, landscaping maintenance and civil groundworks in the UK.

Matt Setchell, Head of Energy Investments at Octopus, commented: “We’ve constructed a portfolio of assets with an aim of consistently exceeding performance expectations, and with the support of BayWa r.e. we can ensure we optimise the performance of our portfolio on behalf of our investors. Octopus is building on its position as an investor and developer of renewable energy assets in the UK and Europe, and ensuring our operations are running as close to full potential as possible allows us to advance our growth strategy.”

The technical asset management role being undertaken by BayWa r.e. involves the day-to-day technical and commercial management of the projects, monitoring of technical faults, visual inspections as well as data analysis and technical reporting.

Niedhöfer added “With two of the wind farms located in the Scottish Highlands, these projects are an opportunity for us to extend our presence in Scotland and increase our investment in the digitalisation of our processes, helping to operate remote projects such as the Beinneun windfarm. Our high-quality approach combines the expertise and experience of our ‘on the ground’ engineers with the analysis and monitoring of our dedicated Control Centre in Munich.”

“Active throughout Europe, the US, Australia, Africa and Central America we are a truly global service provider. With over 5 GW of assets under operations management, our clients are able to tap into considerable experience.”