Press release

Commerz Real deepens cooperation with EnBW/Valeco by investing in nine wind farms and a solar park in France

• Portfolio with long-term feed-in tariffs
• Klimavest acquires over 49 % of the portfolio
• Electricity production potentially covers annual demand of more than 35,000 average French households

Commerz Real and EnBW with its French subsidiary Valeco are further expanding their strategic partnership in the field of renewable energy generation. For its impact fund Klimavest, the real assets subsidiary of Commerzbank acquired 49 percent of the shares in a French wind and solar portfolio. This consists of nine onshore wind farms and one solar park with a total capacity of 169.1 megawatts. The remaining 51 percent is held indirectly by Valeco. The seller of the stake is a fund managed by Mirova, an affiliate of Natixis Investment Managers focused on sustainable investments.

According to Eurostat figures from 2019, the potential annual electricity production of the Klimavest investment corresponds to the average annual consumption of around 35,000 French private households. Calculated according to the parameters of the German Federal Environment Agency and the International Financial Institutions with reference to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, this represents a potential avoidance of more than 20,000 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions.

© Valeco

The assets are all in operation and were connected to the grid between 2016 and 2021. All ten parks benefit from 15- or 20-year national inflation-indexed feed-in tariffs. The turbines have longterm full maintenance contracts with renowned manufacturers such as Vestas and Enercon. The majority of the portfolio is located in the south of France between the metropolitan areas of Montpellier and Toulouse. This is not Klimavest’s first investment in France: the impact fund had already acquired an onshore wind farm not far from the Atlantic coast of western France in 2021.

With this transaction, we are further expanding the Klimavest portfolio with proven assets and long-term plannable returns. The purchase reflects our strategy of broad diversification of assets with different geography, type of power generation, remuneration model and year of construction.

Timo Werner, fund manager of Klimavest at Commerz Real.