The deal will help transform the electricity network in the Baltic states, the French asset manager dedicated to sustainable investment said.
An energy transition fund managed by Mirova has bought a stake in the Baltic Storage Platform, a joint venture formed last year by independent solar energy producer Corsica Sole and Evecon, a renewable energy developer from the Baltics. No financial details were disclosed.
The joint venture’s main aim is to develop, build and operate high-capacity battery-storage power stations in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, as the Baltic region prepares to decouple from the Russian electricity grid and connect its electricity networks to continental Europe, via Poland, by 2025.
The investment by Mirova’s Energy Transition 5 fund in the Baltic Storage Platform “demonstrates our commitment to investing in new, innovative and meaningful projects for the citizens of Europe,” said Raphaël Lance, head of energy transition infrastructure funds at Mirova.
The three Baltic states are the only members of the EU whose electricity networks are still connected to Russia and Belarus.
“We are particularly proud to participate in the decarbonisation and energy independence of the Baltic countries through the installation of new clean energy production and storage capacities,” Lance said.
90,000 households
Last November, Corsica Sole and Evecon announced plans to build two storage power stations in Estonia by 2025, with a total output of 200 megawatts and a total capacity of 400 megawatt hours, which would cover the average energy use of around 90,000 Estonian households.
The emergence of Mirova, which is part of Natixis Investment Managers, as a third investor in the Baltic storage joint venture “will ensure that the two storage power plants come on stream in 2025 and accelerate the development of other projects in the Baltic countries,” Mirova, Corsica Sole and Evecon said.
“As a leading and committed player in sustainable finance finance, Mirova will help us to operate high-capacity battery-storage plants connected to the grid,” said Michael Coudyser, managing director of Corsica Sole, which remains the majority shareholder in the Baltic joint venture. “These are key projects for Estonia and the Baltic States, which are keen to move closer to the European grid.”
The new power plants will also help Estonia in its aim to cover 100% of its electricity consumption with renewable energies by 2030.
