immo!nvest – Die Plattform für Standorte und Immobilien

Tag: Elektrizitätswerk

  • BKW acquires majority stake in HelveticWind

    BKW acquires majority stake in HelveticWind

    BKW has increased its stake in the HelveticWind cooperation to 60 per cent. The remaining 40 per cent will remain with Elektrizitätswerke des Kantons Zürich (EKZ). This strategic decision, which was signed on 5 July 2024, marks a significant realignment of the cooperation between the energy supply companies. Previously, BKW held 29 per cent and EKZ 20.2 per cent of the shares in HelveticWind.

    Successful cooperation in Germany and Italy
    HelveticWind operates a total of six wind farms, four of them in Germany with an installed capacity of 67 megawatts (MW) and two in Italy with 52 MW. BKW, which is already active as a service provider for the plants, has extensive expertise in the maintenance and optimisation of these wind farms. With the acquisition of the majority stake, BKW can further expand its existing portfolio of renewable energy generation plants.

    Future-oriented planning and CO2 neutrality by 2040
    Margarita Aleksieva, Head of Wind & Solar at BKW, is enthusiastic about the majority acquisition: “We want to help shape the energy transition in the coming decades and be CO2-neutral in the energy business by 2040. In this context, we are also examining the repowering potential of the six wind farms. Our aim is to optimise the existing sites in the future and increase our energy yield thanks to the latest technology.”

    Thanks to long-standing partners and outlook
    BKW would like to thank its departing partners Energie Wasser Bern, Genossenschaft Elektra Baselland and SN Erneuerbare Energie for their many years of collaboration. The reorganisation of the cooperation will enable BKW and EKZ to continue their partnership successfully and drive the energy transition forward together.

    History and objectives of the HelveticWind cooperation
    The HelveticWind cooperation was founded in March 2010 by Energie Wasser Bern and BKW. The original aim was to realise a wind power portfolio with an installed capacity of over 100 MW, which has since been exceeded. The German wind farms include Gross Welle, Lüdersdorf-Parstein, Sendenhorst and Wulkow, while the Ventisei and Eolo wind farms in Italy are part of the portfolio.

    With its majority stake in HelveticWind, BKW is strengthening its position in the field of renewable energies and taking an important step towards a sustainable energy future.

  • Public sector in Uri acquires majority shareholding in EWA-energieUri, Altdorf

    Public sector in Uri acquires majority shareholding in EWA-energieUri, Altdorf

    As a company in the field of electricity generation with renewable energies and their high potential for the energy supply in Uri and climate policy challenges, EWA-energie Uri AG has a weighty economic, regional political and financial significance.

    In view of the upcoming concession renewals, the cantonal council instructed the cantonal government on 26 May 2021 to negotiate with CKW to obtain a majority stake in EWA-energieUri from the public sector (canton of Uri, corporations and possibly municipalities). After several years of negotiations, a deal was reached in May 2023. The key element: CKW sells 52.3 percent of the shares to a bidding consortium consisting of the canton, the corporation of Uri and two energy infrastructure funds managed by Swiss Life Asset Managers. This means that the previous majority shareholder will in future still hold a 10 percent share. The purchase price for the 52.3 percent share package is CHF 180 million. The municipalities of Uri have the option of acquiring an additional 2.3 percent of the shares.

    The composition of the seven-member Board of Directors is as follows: Canton Uri and Swiss Life Asset Managers Energy Infrastructure Fund are each entitled to nominate two members of the Board of Directors, while Korporation Uri and CKW are each entitled to nominate one member. In addition, the canton and the corporation of Uri nominate an independent member of the board of directors and together have the right to the chairmanship.

    An extraordinary general meeting of EWA-energieUri will be held on 6 July 2023. There will be changes in the Board of Directors due to the change in the majority of shareholders. The current members Marion Klein, Urs Meyer, Andreas Ruch and Pascal Ziegler will step down from the Board of Directors. Newly proposed for election for the remainder of the current term of office, i.e. until the Annual General Meeting covering the 2024/25 financial year on 28 January 2026) are:

    – Beat Huber, Suhr (representative Swiss Life Asset Managers)

    – Daniel Arnold, of Flüelen, in Obfelden (representative Swiss Life Asset Managers)

    – Stephan Marty, Rothenburg, Independent Director

    The following elected persons are also members of the Board of Directors:

    – Cantonal Mayor Urs Janett, Altdorf (representative Canton Uri)

    – Director of Economic Affairs Urban Camenzind, Bürglen (representative Canton Uri)

    – President of the Corporation Kurt Schuler, Altdorf (representative of the Corporation Uri)

    – Martin Schwab, Weggis (representative CKW)

    Kurt Schuler is proposed for election as Chairman of the Board of Directors.

    With Swiss Life Asset Managers, the Canton and the Corporation of Uri were able to gain a long-term oriented Swiss partner with energy and financial expertise. Swiss Life Asset Managers has also been directly and indirectly involved in other energy suppliers in the canton for many years (Heizwerk Uri AG, Heizwerk Gotthard AG, KW Palanggenbach) through an energy infrastructure fund managed by it, in which investors based in Switzerland such as Swiss pension funds, insurance companies and foundations are involved.

    A majority shareholding in Uri again after 115 years

    CKW had held the majority of shares in EWA-energieUri since 1908. Now that the public sector of the Canton of Uri has acquired the majority, it once again holds the majority of shares in EWA-energieUri after 115 years.

    The Canton of Uri acquires an additional 8.3 percent of the share capital with the intention of offering 2.3 percent to the municipalities of Uri for purchase. As the shares are part of the canton’s financial assets, the cantonal government can carry out the transaction on its own authority – without a referendum or a decision by the cantonal council. By also acquiring an additional 10 percent of the shares, the concession-granting bodies now hold the majority in EWA-energieUri, as requested by their committees. The share package of the corporation is also acquired at the expense of the financial assets, which is within the competence of the Engeren Rat.

    Partnership with a view to the energy transition
    Martin Schwab, CEO of CKW and Chairman of the Board of Directors of EWA-energieUri, is satisfied with the agreement: “We welcome the solution reached and look forward to continuing our 115-year partnership with EWA-energieUri and the canton of Uri. Together we want to expand renewable energies and drive forward the energy transition.” One element of the future partnership is the joint expansion of solar energy in the canton of Uri – with a focus on alpine solar plants, which can make a major contribution to security of supply in winter.

    National economy benefits thanks to know-how and jobs in Uri
    Urs Janett, the cantonal mayor, explains: “With the majority shareholding in EWA-energieUri, the canton and the

    and the Corporation of Uri control a functioning and proven company. The competence of services in the area of power plant planning, maintenance and operation in Uri can also be further expanded, strengthened and secured. In this way, highly attractive jobs can be preserved for the economy of Uri and even more can be created. Thanks to the majority shareholding of the public sector, opportunities are opening up for good and future-oriented concession award solutions for the benefit of all the people of Uri. The government council is pleased to secure know-how and jobs in the canton of Uri by taking over the majority of shares. The EWA-energieUri already develops a large added value in Uri. As a Uri-based company managed according to economic principles, it should continue to enjoy favourable framework conditions. This is in line with the goals of the cantonal government

  • Zurich is investing CHF 573 million in district heating

    Zurich is investing CHF 573 million in district heating

    In a press release , the City of Zurich announced the approval of the “Thermal grids of the power plant” credit line in the amount of CHF 573 million. The amount is to flow into the switch from fossil to renewable heating and cooling in the city and financially secure the conversion of the heating supply required to achieve the climate target. Those entitled to vote should decide on the approval in 2022.

    The city set the course for the climate policy expansion plans “ Net Zero 2040 ” of the electricity company of the city of Zurich ( ewz ) in spring 2021 with the opening of the Zurich Heat Advice Center. The legal foundation was laid in November 2021 with the Heat Supply Ordinance.

    City Councilor Michael Baumer is quoted as saying that the municipal measure, which is divided into six sub-projects, makes an “important contribution to decarbonisation in the heating sector”. The financial buffer is “only a first step, the actual work is just beginning,” announces Baumer.

  • Canton Schaffhausen increases stake in cantonal works

    Canton Schaffhausen increases stake in cantonal works

    The canton of Schaffhausen is buying a temporarily owned 10 percent stake from its power station, informs the canton administration in a message . The shares were sold by the canton to EKS three years ago when the canton took over a total of 25 percent of EKS from Axpo Holding . At that time, the canton had sold the remaining 15 percent to EKT Holding AG ( EKT ) from Thurgau.

    The canton paid Axpo a total of CHF 53 million in 2017 to acquire the block of shares. They were reapplied by reselling 10 percent to EKS at a price of 21.2 million francs and reselling 15 percent to EKT at a price of 31.8 million francs.

    In January of last year, the canton considered buying back the shares held by EKS as part of its ownership strategy, the announcement further explains. The EKS never intended to hold the shares itself in the long term, it says there. As the purchase price, the two partners have agreed the price of 21.2 million francs already paid for the transaction three years ago.

    After the transaction, the canton will hold an 85 percent stake in its cantonal works. The remaining 15 percent of the EKS should remain in the possession of EKT. The canton administration wrote that this was welcomed “particularly with a view to the synergy potential in the network area, both by the government council of the canton of Schaffhausen and the government council of the canton of Thurgau as well as the boards of directors of EKS and EKT”.