Through its subsidiary Eolica Sud srl, Falck Renewables (Falck Group) has closed a euro 150.5 million project financing deal for its San Sostene wind farm including 43 turbines producing 80 MW of installed power.  

This is a particularly important deal for the Falck Group, since it is the second one closed in the last 14 months, after that concerning Minervino Murge (Barletta-Andria-Trani) wind farm (52 MW), stipulated at the end of 2008, which was worth euro 114.4 million.

The San Sostene wind farm has 43 turbines producing a total of approximately 80 MW of installed power. It includes two production areas corresponding to the two ridges of the Serre mountain chain. The South ridge has been operational since last November with its 28 1.5 MW turbines from US manufacturer General Electric, generating a total of 42 MW, while on the North ridge 15  2.5 MW turbines from Nordex are currently being installed, adding another 37.5 MW.  

Each single production area is expected to produce approximately 90 GWh of electricity annually for a comprehensive total of 180 GWh per year. This should satisfy the demand for energy of as many as 70,000 households, leading to savings in carbon-dioxide emissions to the tune of approx. 100,000 tons per annum.  

A pool of credit institutions, co-ordinated by Efibanca Spa, and also with the participation of Banca Infrastrutture Innovazione e Sviluppo Spa, as Agent Bank, MPS Capital Services Banca per le Imprese Spa, Centrobanca Spa, Agrileasing Spa and Barclays Bank Plc financed the investment for this paramount project.
The afore mentioned credit institutions were assisted by Grimaldi e Associati Law Firm as legal advisor.

Eng. Piero Manzoni, Managing Director of the Falck Group, said: “This project financing deal represents an additional goal that the Group has achieved to become a leading player in the sector of energy from renewable sources, a strategically important segment, because it contributes to power self-generation in Italy, while safeguarding the environment.”