Wind Power

Wind is the movement of air from an area of high pressure to an area of low pressure. In fact, wind exists because the sun unevenly heats the surface of the Earth. As hot air rises, cooler air moves in to fill the void. As long as the sun shines, the wind will blow. And as long as the wind blows, people will harness it to power their lives. Wind power, as an alternative to fossil fuels, is a plentiful, renewable, widely distributed and clean energy resource. It produces no greenhouse gas emissions during operation and requires only small portions of land. The effects on the environment are generally less problematic than those from other power sources. Wind power is very consistent from year to year but has significant variation over shorter time scales, which makes it a little less predictive compared to solar PV or other energy sources. Some interesting facts about Wind energy:

• Wind mills have been in use since 2000 B.C. and were first developed in China and Persia;
• About 1 – 2% cent of the energy coming from the sun is converted into wind energy. That is about 50 to 100 times more than the energy converted into biomass by all plants on earth;
• Low maintenance costs and  relatively little impact on the environment compared to fossil fuel power plants;
• Unlike nearly every other form of energy, wind power uses virtually no water;
• Wind turbines can be refurbished or recycled after their designed lifetime;
• Wind energy is one of the lowest-priced renewable energy sources and is economically very competitive, compared to other types of electricity generation.
• Wind power is currently the fastest-growing source of electricity production in the world. Industry experts predict that if this pace of growth continues, by 2050 the answer to one third of the world’s electricity needs will be found blowing in the wind.

Solar PV

The radiation continuously showered on earth by the sun represents the most basic and inexhaustible source of energy which is the mother of all forms of energy. Photovoltaics (PV) generates clean electrical power by converting solar radiation into direct current electricity using semiconductors that exhibit the photovoltaic effect. As a source of electricity, solar PV compares favorably to other types of electricity generation:

• Low maintenance costs and environmental impact;
• PV is a mature technology with highly predictable performance and operating costs;
• Solar PV generates power during peak load periods, providing a cleaner alternative to fossil-fuel fired power plants;
• Zero-emissions, low profile, and quiet enough to be located in or near inhabited locations;
• The carbon footprint of PV is up to 65 times lower than that of fossil fuel-based electricity, and is continuously decreasing;
• Covering just 0,7% of Europe’s total land with photovoltaic modules would provide 100% of the continent’s electricity needs;
• PV plants are highly modular and scalable to fit load requirements, site constraints, and transmission capacity;
• PV modules can be recycled and the materials can be reused.

A new study illustrates that once estimates of climate change costs and other health impacts are taken into account, it would be cheaper to build new power plants from wind turbines or solar PV than from fossil fuels, such as coal or gas. It would also be cheaper to replace some of our dirtiest coal plants with these cleaner sources. In other words, transitioning to cleaner energy isn’t just helping to protect us, our children and grand-children, it’s also good economics.

Secondary market

We assist our investors in identifying and acquiring the right form of clean energy investment and opportunities on secondary market of operational solar pv, wind or small hydroelectric projects suitable to their specific needs. We manage for our clients the whole evaluation and acquisition process of the assets. More and more institutional and private investors are becoming aware of the investment opportunities in real assets. Renewable energy infrastructure is playing an ever greater role parallel to the traditional property markets. As there is low correlation to other asset classes and capital markets, in combination with robust long-term predictable returns and low volatility, renewable energy assets are an ideal supplement to traditional forms of investment. Renewable energy investments are characterized by a high level of performance stability for a longer period as they are not dependent on economic fluctuation. Renewable energy power plants are therefore an ideal supplement to the current portfolio structure delivering verifiable improvement to the investor’s overall risk-return profile.