Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP) has launched Copenhagen Energy Islands (CEI), a new development company dedicated to developing energy islands globally. Copenhagen Energy Islands will build on CIP’s long-standing experience and expertise in offshore wind. Furthermore, it is currently developing a portfolio of around 10 energy island projects around the North Sea, the Baltic Sea and Southeast Asia.
CEI is an independent company, majority-owned by CIP and a group of investors. The founding group includes major Nordic, European and North American investors with a track record of investments in renewable energy infrastructure, including PensionDanmark, PFA, SEB, and Andel. Energy islands are large-scale offshore energy hubs that will enable massive scaling as they combine existing, proven technologies in a new and innovative way and at a significantly larger scale, allowing for a cost-efficient build-out and integration of offshore wind.
In November 2023, CIP, on behalf of its Copenhagen Infrastructure IV (CI IV) fund, began construction on Buffalo Plains Wind Farm. It is a 495 MW wind farm consisting of 83 Siemens-Gamesa turbines located in Vulcan County, Alberta. CIP had acquired Buffalo Plains in 2022 from ABO Wind.
REGlobal’s Views: Offshore wind deployment is gaining traction in Europe as the continent moves towards ensuring energy security. In this regard, energy islands, based on offshore wind are witnessing increasing focus to generate massive volumes of clean wind power which an be transported to European countries via transmission systems. It can also be further used for producing green hydrogen. While the concept is more popular in Europe currently, there is tremendous opportunity in the offshore wind region of South East Asia as well.
