Baker & McKenzie Represents Repsol New Energy Ventures, S.A. and EDP Inovação, S.A. in First Portuguese Offshore Wind Turbine Investment
Deal Announcement
16 June 2012
Chicago, USA, June 16, 2012 – Baker & McKenzie represented Repsol New Energy Ventures, S.A. and EDP Inovção, S.A., as joint venture partners, in connection with their investment in Windplus S.A., a Portuguese affiliate of Principle Power, Inc. Windplus S.A. and Principle Power, Inc. have pioneered the development of deep-water floating wind turbine foundations used to exploit the world’s highest capacity wind resources offshore.
The turbine is installed on an innovative floating foundation called the WindFloat. In addition to being the first offshore wind turbine in Portugal, this is the first offshore wind turbine to be installed without the use of any heavy lift vessels or piling equipment at sea. All final assembly, installation and pre-commissioning of the turbine and substructure took place on land in a controlled environment. The complete system was then wet-towed offshore using simple tug vessels.
The WindFloat is equipped with a Vestas v80 2.0MW turbine capable of producing enough electricity for 1,300 households. The system is located 5km off the coast of Aguçadoura, Portugal, and has already produced in excess of 1.7 GWh.
The WindFloat ushers in a new era in the offshore wind industry permitting utilities to target the highest quality wind resources, independent of water depth. In addition, projects can realize significant cost and risk reductions as a result of the onshore fabrication and commissioning scheme.
The successful installation and on-going operations of the WindFloat in Portugal is the result of hard work and foresight on part of the WindPlus joint venture, comprised of EDP, Repsol, Principle Power, ASM, Vestas Wind Systems A/S and InovCapital including a subsidy from the Innovation Support Fund (Fundo de Apoio à Inovação – FAI). Additionally, over 60 other European suppliers, 40 of them Portuguese, supplied key components to the project.
The Baker & McKenzie team included project finance Partner José A. Morán with help from Andrew Warmus (Corporate & Securities) and Juan Carlos Gonzalez (Project Finance), other members of the Firm’s team included Andy Boling (Compensation and Employment), David Roche (IP), Elizabeth Ebersole (Compensation & Employment), Omar Galaria (IP), all based in Chicago.
“We were pleased to work closely with Repsol and EDP on this groundbreaking project for the development of the offshore wind generation sector in Portugal,” said Mr. Morán. “This deal showcases our ability to advise innovative energy companies in a sector with tremendous domestic and global growth potential.”