Vifor Wind Power Plant

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The proposed investment will support the development of the Vifor Wind Project (the Project), a 461 MW (installed capacity) wind power plant (WPP) to be located in Buzau County, Romania. The project is to be developed by First Look Solutions S.A (the “Company”)., a special purpose vehicle (SPV) established by a joint venture between Rezolv Energy (“Rezolv,” 51% equity stake) (https://rezolv.energy/) and Low Carbon Limited (“Low Carbon”, 49% equity stake) (https://lowcarbon.com/) (the “Sponsors”). Rezolv is an independent renewable energy producer focused on investments in renewables in the Eastern European energy market. It is wholly owned by Actis LLC. Low Carbon is a global investment and asset management company based in the United Kingdom. The project consists of the construction, operation, and maintenance of the wind farm, which is anticipated to be operational for 35 years. The project will involve the installation of 72 EnVentus Vestas V162 wind turbine generators (WTGs), each with a capacity of up to 6.4 MW. Each turbine will have a hub height of 166 m and a rotor diameter of 162 m. The wind turbines will be connected to the national grid via a substation within the project area and a 1.4 km 400 kV overhead transmission line (OHL). The project will be served by a network of existing agricultural roads and newly built access roads, along which the underground cable lines will be installed. During project construction, an onsite concrete batching plant will be installed to service the project. The project will be implemented in two phases: i) Phase 1 with a capacity of 192 MW (30 WTG) to be commissioned by end 2025, and ii) Phase 2 with a capacity of 269 MW (42 WTG) to be commissioned in late 2026. The WPP project comprises five sub-projects located within the administrative territory of Costesti, Gheraseni, Smeeni, Luciu, and Tinesti communes in Buzau County. The available land for the project is 2777 hectares (ha), of which construction activities will impact approximately 147.8 ha, and permanent facilities will occupy an additional 44.5 ha). All land required for the project, except land needed for the substation and five OHL towers, is public pastureland owned by the local councils of the above-mentioned administrative areas, some of which are leased to farmers who currently use the land for grazing. The project has secured land for 30 years via voluntary lease and purchase agreements concluded with public and private landowners. The lease and purchase agreements include the possibility of a 15-year extension by the decision of both parties. The closest residential property to a WTG is approximately 600 m. During construction and operation, grazing within the project site will continue, except within areas directly impacted by project activities and any related safety zones, thus minimizing economic displacement. The project and its ancillary infrastructure are not expected to result in physical displacement.  The majority of the project infrastructure (i.e., 61 out of 72 turbines) is located within a Natura 2000 site, Valea Calma?uiului Site of Community Importance (SCI, designated under the EU Habitats Directive), and Valea Calma?uiului Special Protection Area (SPA, designated under the EU Birds Directive). The SCI is characterized by two main habitat types; “Pannonic salt steppes and salt marshes” and “Water courses of plain to montane levels with the Ranunculion fluitantis and Callitricho-Batrachion vegetation. The SPA is designated for breeding and migratory bird species.  The project will be developed under a turnkey EPC Engineering, Procurement, and Construction (EPC) contract executed by Vestas. Vestas will also perform the Operations and Maintenance (O&M) contractor role for the first 15 years of operations, after which Rezolv will oversee operations. It is anticipated that Vestas will perform the long-term Service agreement (LTSA) for the WTG maintenance.