Taaleri Energia’s SolarWind III Fund has invested in Smiltene, a wind farm located in Latvia, approximately 120 kilometres northeast of Riga. The Fund and AEI, a fund managed by Lords LB Asset Management, are joint owners of the project.
Construction work started in Q4 2024, and the wind farm is expected to reach full operational status in Q1 2027. The Smiltene wind farm will consist of 16 Nordex 7.0 MW turbines. The wind farm is expected to generate approximately 330 GWh of green electricity and contribute to avoiding an estimated 64,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions each year of operation.
The project was developed by a local Latvian developer, in close cooperation with Taaleri Energia’s development management team. Nordex will provide operations and maintenance services for the project under a 35-year contract with availability guarantees.
Senior debt will be provided by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, Luminor, and the Nordic Investment Bank.
“We are delighted to complete our first wind farm investment in Latvia, a country committed to increasing the share of renewables in its power generation mix. The Smiltene wind farm, when operational, will almost double Latvia’s installed onshore wind capacity from the current level. We also very much value the support we have received from all the stakeholders and local partners on Project Smiltene,” says João Neto, Investment Director at Taaleri Energia.
“This investment highlights our commitment to accelerating renewable energy development in Latvia and the Baltic region. Supporting such strategic projects significantly contributes to the country’s green energy goals while delivering sustainable value for our investors and stakeholders,” says Mantas Auruskevicius, Fund Manager at Lords LB Asset Management.
This operation benefits from support from the European Union under the InvestEU Fund.
About the Taaleri SolarWind III Fund
The Taaleri SolarWind III Fund is Taaleri Energia’s sixth renewable energy fund. The Fund has a value-add, develop-to-core investment strategy and it will acquire, develop, contract, construct, operate, and exit a portfolio of utility scale onshore wind farms, photovoltaic solar parks and battery energy storage assets across the Fund’s target markets.
The Fund has over EUR 600 million in total commitments (including c. EUR 70 million in co-investment commitments) and has, to date, made investment commitments totaling c. EUR 300 million.
The Fund currently owns around 60 development stage projects, representing c. 6 GW in net generation capacity. Based on the investment decisions made to date and the opportunities the development portfolio, the Fund is expected to invest c. 50% of its commitments in the Nordics and Baltics, c. 30% in Poland and Southeast Europe, c. 10% in Spain, and c. 10% in Texas.
The Taaleri SolarWind III Fund is classified as an Article 9 Fund.
The Fund’s investors include Erste Group Bank AG, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the European Investment Fund, Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Company, KBC Verzekeringen (in partnership with EIF), SmartCap, Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Company, VBV Pensionskasse, and several additional European institutional investors. Finnish pension funds, foundations, endowments, family offices and individual investors are also strong supporters of the Fund, investing through a fund managed by Aktia Bank.
