Ardian Clean Energy Evergreen Fund (ACEEF) Enters German Renewables Market with Anchor Onshore Wind Investment
Ardian, a global private investment firm, announces that Ardian Clean Energy Evergreen Fund (ACEEF) has completed its first investment in Germany with the acquisition of a greenfield onshore wind project portfolio located in Saxony, representing a total installed capacity of 132 MW once constructed.
This investment reinforces Ardian’s commitment to advancing renewables energy infrastructure across Europe and is intended to serve as an anchor for the progressive build-out of a broader German renewables platform through disciplined follow-on acquisitions, including complementary mature renewables technologies.
The portfolio is to benefit from 100% contracted revenues for 20 years under the government-backed EEG feed-in tariff framework, providing long-term cash flow visibility and minimal exposure to wind resource and power price volatility. The first project is expected to commence construction later this year (14 MW). All projects are being developed in a strategic partnership with 3Energy GmbH, a Saxony-based pure-play onshore wind developer with a long-standing track record of renewable projects (850 MW) delivered in the German market.
With this investment ACEEF marks its geographic expansion into Europe’s largest renewable energy market. The transaction provides immediate exposure to a high-quality development pipeline while offering compelling risk-mitigated revenue profile. Ardian’s infrastructure team brings significant experience in the German energy market through its longstanding partnership with EWE, one of Germany’s largest energy companies, providing deep local market insight, regulatory understanding, and operational expertise to drive value creation in Germany.
Already invested across the Nordics, Spain, Italy, France, Peru and Chile, ACEEF’s strategy is centred on building diversified, high-quality scalable platforms that deliver long-term, resilient returns while advancing the energy transition through an industrial approach.
“Germany is Europe’s largest and most mature renewable energy market, thereby a strategically significant entry point for ACEEF. It offers strong demand growth driven by electrification, and 20-year contracted revenues under the EEG regime with the German government as a creditworthy counterparty. This investment aligns perfectly with ACEEF’s strategy of building diversified, long-term renewable platforms in Europe’s most attractive markets, and positions us to capitalize on Germany’s ambitious renewable expansion over the coming decade.” Daniel Von der Schulenburg, COO and Head of Infrastructure Germany, Benelux and Northern Europe & Senior Managing Director, Ardian
“This acquisition is consistent with ACEEF’s strategy to secure high-quality contracted revenue opportunities and build scalable renewables platforms across Europe’s core markets. It diversifies the fund through the addition of a new geography while maintaining our focus on long-term, stable cash flows. The German anchor portfolio gives us an attractive entry point and a clear runway for disciplined growth through follow-on investments in onshore wind and adjacent technologies. We are well positioned to generate long-term, sustainable value for our investors.” Benjamin Kennedy, Head of ACEEF & Managing Director Renewables, Ardian
ACEEF is Ardian Infrastructure’s first open-ended clean energy fund, which was launched in early 2022 and whose fundraising reached €1.0bn at closing in July 2023. The fund offers professional investors the opportunity to enhance their exposure to renewable assets and energy transition. The fund commits to making investments with an environmental objective as described in Article 9 fund of the EU Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR) and invests globally, with a focus on Europe.
ACEEF will continue to focus on core renewable technologies – namely solar, wind and hydro, as well as emerging technologies across biogas, biomass, storage and energy efficiency. ACEEF currently manages +1.5GW of operating capacity across 5 platforms.
Ardian has been a pioneer in the energy transition, having started investing in renewable assets in 2007. Across all Infrastructure Funds at Ardian, the team manages more than 10GW of clean energy capacity in Europe and the Americas.
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