CEZ Purchases F&C Wind Farms from Continental

American based power developer Continental Wind Partners LLC, a renewable energy partnership backed by private equity fund Good Energies Investments, has reached a deal to sell the Fantanele and Cogealac wind farms in Romania to CEZ Group. With construction of the turbines set to begin, the total investment from CEZ group in what should be the largest onshore wind farm in Europe is expected to be nearly € 1.1 billion. Continental will manage the construction of the turbines using several international construction firms for the project.

Fantanele and Cogealac
Fantanele and Cogealac will be the largest onshore wind farm in Europe, approximately twice the size of the current largest fully permitted wind farm. Its total capacity of 600 megawatts will also make F&C three times the size of the largest operational wind farm currently in Europe.

The project will be constructed in three stages, with the first phase completed and in operation by April 2009. The remainder of the turbines are expected to be online by the end of 2010.

CEZ Group (www.cez.cz)
CEZ Group is the largest electricity producer in the Czech Republic. The company aims to become the leader in the production and sale of electricity in the Central and South-eastern European markets. They are currently one of the three largest heat suppliers in the Czech Republic.

Continental Wind Partners (www.continentalwind.com)
Based in Delaware, U.S.A., Continental Wind Partners (CWP) was started in 2007 with the goal of financing the development of wind farms in Romania and Poland.

CWP has expanded its investments to Australia, New Zealand, and other European Nations.

CWP’s investors are mainly institutional investors from the United States and Europe. The company partners with local firms to develop wind power by combining skills and resources. One of their biggest partners over the years has been Good Energies Investments, a leading renewable energy fund with committed equity funds in excess of EUR 5 billion.

Good Energies (www.goodenergies.com)
Good Energies is one of the largest investment firms in renewable energy and energy efficient industries. Its annual investment budget is EUR 350 million, or USD 500 million.