DENMARK - Danish labour-market fund PensionDanmark is to invest DKK700m (€74m) in wind power through the part-acquisition of an offshore farm.

The deal, which bypasses the usual collective investment vehicles, is said to be the first of its kind by a pension fund.

PensionDanmark's new partner said it hoped the agreement would pave the way for more pension fund investments of this type.

PensionDanmark, which has total assets of DKK88.3bn, signed an agreement with DONG Energy to buy 30% of the Nysted offshore wind farm for DKK400m.

At the same time, DONG Energy is to buy E.ON's 20% stake in the wind farm and sell it on to PensionDanmark for DKK300m.

The deal will leave Danish provider DONG Energy and PensionDanmark as equal owners of the offshore wind farm, while DONG will continue to take responsibility for operations.

DONG Energy will provide an operational guarantee to PensionDanmark, in return receiving a larger share of profits (if the power price rises above current levels).

Torben Möger Pedersen, chief executive at PensionDanmark, said: "PensionDanmark is the first pension fund to enter into a direct agreement with a major Danish industrial partner within this area.

"The model chosen can serve as a breakthrough for the investment of pension fund assets on a large scale in green technology and other infrastructure in Denmark."

Anders Eldrup, chief executive at DONG Energy ,added: "We hope this agreement can pave the way for similar pension fund investments."

The wind farm, situated south of the Danish island of Lolland, has a capacity of 165.6 MW.

It was commissioned in 2003 and delivers around 570 GWh of energy a year - which equates to the consumption of around 140,000 Danish households.

Danish pension funds have a history of SRI based around renewable energy, with PensionDanmark, PBU and AP Pension already heavily investing in solar power in Spain.

However, the funds recently voiced their concerns over proposed retroactive changes to the level of feed-in tariffs offered to investors in the country.

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