Ninetynine Seconds

In the Tabernas desert, in the South of Spain, we have realised the solar PV plant “La Cabrita”. Ignacio Ríos, Project Construction Manager at Aquila Capital, is introducing the large solar PV park and its characteristics. La Cabrita, which was built minimising the environmental impact, spans over a total area of 120 hectares and has an installed capacity of around 50MW.

Under its sub-brand AQ Acentor, Aquila Capital is developing built-to-rent apartments in Spain. AQ Acentor’s first project, which is located in Madrid’s city district Villaverde, was finished in 2021 and is introduced by Natalia Burgos, Project Manager at AQ Acentor. The public housing project plans to attract especially younger people with its special designs, affordable prices and wide common areas.

María José Esparraga, Construction Manager and Julia García, Project Manager at Aquila Capital, show the current construction development of Illescas Green Logistics Park’s first warehouse, which is estimated to be completed in Q1 2022.  

Illescas Green Logistics Park is our first logistic project in Spain and comprises six plots of land with a total area of 472,879 sqm, to develop logistic projects by implementing sustainable, energy-efficient building practices with photovoltaic panels installed on the entire rooftop and will feature carbon offsetting measures.

Under its subsidiary brand AQ Ampere, Aquila Capital develops solar PV parks in Germany. David Mayer, Nader Mottahedin and Jane Coenen-Blunck explain the team's holistic approach. AQ Ampere manages solar PV projects from land acquisition through development and construction to the ongoing management of the plants.

Johannes Wurr, Asset Manager Energy & Infrastructure at Aquila Capital, explains about the logistical challenges of a wind farm construction in high terrain. Johannes is on one of our construction sites in Norway where he is in charge of overviewing the installation of wind energy turbines. Due to the hilly terrain and the extraordinary size of this wind farm, the logistics related to transportation and installation of main turbine components define a critical phase for the whole project.

Find out why energy efficiency should be considered as “first fuel”. Robert Hundeshagen, Investment Manager at Aquila Capital, explains why energy efficiency investments play a vital role in the energy transition and truly deliver an impact from a return perspective as well as by addressing key UN Sustainable Development Goals.

With our Forestry investments, we are actively contributing to meeting the UN Sustainability Goals. In our latest 99 seconds video, Jasper Renk, Asset Manager Forestry, provides insights into our management approach on forestry impact investments and describes one of our forestry assets in Scotland, which is special due to its very high sustainability standards in the ongoing asset management.

Aquila Capital invests in sustainable data centres under its subsidiary brand AQ Compute. Carl von Hessen, Head of Data Centre Investments, provides insights into the investment opportunity. He explains the criteria we consider when building our data centres and why Norway is a perfect location for the asset class.

Are you interested to find out more about how hydropower plants work both technically and economically? Christian Heidfeld, Aquila Capital’s Head of Asset Management Hydropower, explains in this short film clip how our Alforfa hydro power plant utilises a special cascade system. Our local Chief Operations Officer Francisco Machado provides further insights into how the plant looks from the inside and how he ensures that the plant runs efficiently at all times.

Melanie Schaub, Asset Manager Wind, explains the key criteria she takes into account when visiting on of Aquila Capital’s wind farms in the middle of Denmark for an annual inspection. Aquila Capital’s dedicated asset management team closely inspects the turbines and the local conditions of its wind farms on a regular basis in order to ensure a stable and long-term performance of the park for the investors.

The outbreak of Covid-19 has posed challenges for Real Asset Management, for example due to travel restrictions. Tor Syverud, Head Investment Management Hydropower, gives an insight into Hydropower Asset Management during Covid-19, demonstrating how Aquila Capital is ensuring that hydropower plants continue to operate smoothly during the pandemic.

Several contractors are involved in the technical takeover of a completed wind farm. As asset manager, Aquila Capital coordinates the entire cooperation between all parties involved. Melanie Schaub explains how a punctual and smooth takeover of a wind farm can be ensured.

In the last five years, Europe has seen significant growth in the use of PPAs for renewable energy. This is largely due to decreasing costs of renewable energy generation, phasing out of feed-in-tariffs as well as growing corporate demand for green energy. Although PPAs are used in several countries across Europe, the majority are concentrated in just a few, where subsidies are limited. However, demand is spreading across the region and several renewable energy projects are seeking PPAs in order to become realised.

The main tasks of Aquila Capital’s project management include the controlling of the revenue and liquidity planning of the asset, as well as the monitoring of the construction schedule and construction budget. Kerstin Fick shows you the construction on site.

Sustainability is becoming increasingly important, as well in the real estate sector. In this context the integration of ESG criteria in real estate investments doesn’t only help to maximizes returns, but also helps to achieve positive social and environement benefits.

Wild bees are central to our ecosystem and biodiversity. But they are threatened species and urgently need protection. Earlier this year, Aquila Capital started a project to colonise wild bees on its solar park land, because the habitat of wild platns and protective structures can help the bees thrive. Together with the University of Oldenburg, we are exploring the possibilities of a wild flower planting programme and providing additional nesting opportunities.

The phase-out of fossil fuels is well underway. District heating is an important component in the transformation of our economic system. Private investment capital plays a decisive role here. This is a highly attractive scenario for infrastructure investors. District heating projects not only offer access to several barely correlated sources of income but are generally supported by a stable political regime that ensures a high degree of planning security.

After Germany, Great Britain and France, Italy and Spain are the 4th and 5th largest logistics markets in Europe. Their geographic locations within Europe enable them to supply the larger countries of the continent relatively quickly, assisted further by their strong infrastructure networks.

Aquila Capital is the largest operator of small scale hydropower plants in Europe. Norway produces more than 90 per cent of its electricity from hydropower. Hydropower is an important part of renewable energy and thus contributes significantly to the reduction of CO2.

Asset Management Optimisation refers to the intelligent collection, analysis and use of data and information that arise when operating on renewable energy systems. From this, optimisation measures are developed.

Asset management in real assets also means to closely control and monitor the asset. And then to take action when repairs or changes must be made - as at this wind turbine in Pinnow.

Hydropower is one of the most significant renewable energy sources in the world. Norway is the largest hydropower producer in Europe and meets its own electricity requirements almost entirely with hydropower.