Herbert Smith Freehills has advised Denmark's Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners on its investment of £160 million in the acquisition and development of the biomass-fired power plant project “Brite” on behalf of the Copenhagen Infrastructure II fund (CII). CII is a Danish private equity fund dedicated to energy and infrastructure assets with DKK 8 billion (€1,05 billion) to invest at present. The fund is open for additional commitments until end of Q1 2015 and is expected to reach a total commitment of DKK 10-12bn/EUR 1.3-1.6bn.

Located in Rotherham and expected to be in operation in the spring of 2017, the Brite plant has a capacity of 39.3 MW and will be fired with waste wood sourced locally in the UK. A consortium of Babcock & Wilcox Vølund from Denmark and UK-based Interserve will construct the power plant, with Babcock & Wilcox Vølund also managing the subsequent operation and maintenance phase. The biomass is to be sourced under a long-term contract with Stobart Biomass Group.

The Herbert Smith Freehills team advising Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners was led by corporate partner Sarah Pollock, who worked alongside associates John Buttanshaw, Laura Hulett and David Stinson, with the construction contract negotiations led by senior associate Tim Healey.

In the last 18 months, Sarah and her team have advised Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (including in joint venture with BWSC Power Corporation Limited) on the investment of c£500m.  In addition to Brite, this has been invested in the acquisition and development of the 44.2MW straw fuelled Snetterton biomass plant in Norfolk, and of the 42.5MW Brigg straw fuelled biomass power plant project in North Lincolnshire.

Sarah commented: "This acquisition reinforces the recent surge in interest in the UK renewables market from investors, especially overseas investors, in light of the future closure of the Renewables Obligation regime to new capacity. Herbert Smith Freehills continues to be at the forefront of these developments and I look forward to working with clients on similar mandates in the renewables space".

With one of the leading renewable energy practices both in the UK and internationally, Herbert Smith Freehills offers a range of legal and strategic services to clients in the sector, including identifying and managing the legal and commercial issues associated with renewable energy projects; advising on legislative impacts and compliance; advising on the operation of the future green energy market and the process for trading renewable energy certificates; and strategic advice on the development of renewable energy projects to achieve environmental and regulatory targets.