Nelja Energia aquired 40MW Ciuteliai wind farm project in Lithuania

17th august 2010

Today, the long-term investors of Nelja Energia – Estonian investment fund Freenergy AS and Scandinavian energy company Vardar Eurus AS have acquired shares of Naujoji Energija UAB, the company of Ciuteliai 40 MW wind farm project in Lithuania.

According to the sale agreement signed on the 17th of August 2010, Freenergy AS and Vardar Eurus AS both acquired 50% of Naujoji Energija UAB shares and the Ciuteliai wind farm project. The construction of the wind farm planned to Western Lithuania will begin in 2011 and the power plant should start generating electricity by the end of the same year. The total investment of the wind farm is 60 million Euros.

“Freenergy and Vardar Eurus have been investing nearly 200 million Euros (over 3 billion Estonian kroons) into renewable energy in the Baltic States. This transaction will be a step towards increasing market share in Lithuania,” said Kalle Kiigske, Member of the Board of Nelja Energia.

90% of Vardar Eurus is owned by the Norwegian energy corporation Vardas AS and the remaining 10% by the Nordic Environment Finance Corporation (NEFCO). Freenergy is an investment fund registered in Estonia, whose largest shareholder (with 33% of the shares) is the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).

All the wind farms owned by Vardar Eurus and Freenergy AS are operated and developed by Nelja Energia OÜ. At the moment, there are 8 wind farms with a combined capacity of 90.5 MW in Estonia and one in Lithuania – the 14MW Sudenai wind farm. In addition, Nelja Energia is developing around 300MW of onshore wind farms and 700 MW of offshore wind farms.