BOSTON and COPENHAGEN, Denmark, Oct. 25, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP), a global leader in green energy investment, and Avangrid, Inc. (NYSE: AGR), a leading sustainable energy company and member of the Iberdrola Group, announced today that the Vineyard Wind 1 project closed a first-of-its-kind tax equity package for commercial-scale offshore wind with three US-based banks. The $1.2 billion dollar investment transaction was reached with J.P. Morgan Chase, Bank of America and Wells Fargo, making it the largest single asset tax equity financing and the first for a commercial scale offshore wind project.
“Closing on a tax equity package has always been a central element to achieving financial success for the first-of-its-kind Vineyard Wind 1,” said Tim Evans, partner and Head of North America for CIP. “With this investment, Vineyard Wind 1 moves Massachusetts closer to its goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 50% by 2030.”
“We are continuing to make history with this first-in-the-nation project,” said Pedro Azagra, Avangrid CEO. “Finalizing this tax equity transaction is a critical milestone in executing the financing plan for Vineyard Wind 1. It will allow us to continue financing the project to make it operational. We are now one step closer to delivering clean, renewable offshore wind energy to Massachusetts homes and businesses.”
“The Inflation Reduction Act marked the most significant action Congress has taken on clean energy and climate change in our nation’s history, and today’s announcement is a critical reminder of the impact the IRA is having here at home,” said Congressman Bill Keating representing Massachusetts’s 9th District. “The closing of this transaction marks a critical step for the financing of Vineyard Wind 1, and in turn for our clean energy economy and the union jobs that have been guaranteed through the first-of-its-kind Project Labor Agreement between Vineyard Wind and the Massachusetts Building Trades.”
CCA Group, Santander Corporate & Investment Banking, and Kirkland & Ellis LLP served as financial and legal advisors to Vineyard Wind 1, CIP and Avangrid.
Vineyard Wind 1 began on-site construction in late 2021, achieved steel-in-the-water in June 2023, and completed the nation’s first offshore substation in July 2023. In July 2021, Vineyard Wind signed the first Project Labor Agreement for an offshore wind project in the United States, which provides for the creation of 500 union jobs though the project.
Vineyard Wind 1 is an 800 MW project located 15 miles off the coast of Martha’s Vineyard and will be the first commercial scale offshore wind project in the United States. The project will generate electricity for more than 400,000 homes and businesses in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts under its competitive long term power purchase agreements with National Grid, Eversource, and Unitil. The project is expected to save ratepayers $1.4 billion over the first 20 years of operation and to reduce carbon emissions by more than 1.6 million tons per year.
About Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners
Founded in 2012, Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners P/S (CIP) today is the world’s largest dedicated fund manager within greenfield renewable energy investments and a global leader in offshore wind. The funds managed by CIP focuses on investments in offshore and onshore wind, solar PV, biomass and energy-from-waste, transmission and distribution, reserve capacity, storage, advanced bioenergy, and Power-to-X.
CIP manages 11 funds and has to date raised approximately EUR 26 billion for investments in energy and associated infrastructure from more than 150 international institutional investors. CIP has approximately 400 employees and 12 offices around the world. For more information, visit www.cip.com
About Avangrid
Avangrid, Inc. (NYSE: AGR) aspires to be the leading sustainable energy company in the United States. Headquartered in Orange, CT with approximately $41 billion in assets and operations in 24 U.S. states, Avangrid has two primary lines of business: networks and renewables. Through its networks business, Avangrid owns and operates eight electric and natural gas utilities, serving more than 3.3 million customers in New York and New England. Through its renewables business, Avangrid owns and operates a portfolio of renewable energy generation facilities across the United States. Avangrid is a member of the group of companies controlled by Iberdrola, S.A. For more information, visit www.avangrid.com.
About Vineyard Wind
Vineyard Wind 1 LLC is a joint venture offshore wind development company that is 50 percent owned by funds of Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP) and 50 percent by Avangrid Renewables, a subsidiary of AVANGRID, Inc. (NYSE: AGR). For more information, visit www.vineyardwind.com.
