Clifford Chance has advised the pension fund Ärzteversorgung Westfalen-Lippe (ÄVWL) on the acquisition of its stake in the onshore wind farm "Nordlicht" in Norway. Located near Tromsø, "Nordlicht" is the largest renewable energy project completed this year. This is ÄVWL's first direct equity investment in onshore wind turbines. In addition to ÄVWL, Siemens Financial Services was also involved in financing the project.

"Nordlicht" includes the turbines in Kvitfjell and Raudfjell and is equipped to meet the electricity requirements of around 50,000 Norwegian households. The wind park is scheduled for completion in mid-2019 and is expected to operate for at least 30 years.

ÄVWL is one of Germany's largest professional pension funds. With assets under management currently totalling around EUR 13 billion, ÄVWL is responsible for the old-age provision for more than 56,000 doctors.

Clifford Chance advised ÄVWL on investment structure and asset management, on establishing a consortium with Siemens Financial Services and securing the project financing by Dekabank. The team comprised partner Dr. Josef Brinkhaus and senior associate Dr. Ilsabe Grandpierre (structuring: both Tax and Regulatory, Frankfurt), partner Markus Muhs, senior associates Dr. Wenzel Richter and Regina Freckmann as well as associate Konstantin Heilmann (all Corporate/M&A, Munich) and partner Dr. Christof Häfner (Finance, Frankfurt).