Sources inform ''Globes'' that Noy Infrastructure Fund is about to sign an agreement to acquire 10% of a 4.9-megawatt photovoltaic solar energy farm owned by Arava Power Company and Kibbutz Ketura at a value of $20 million. The PV farm has been hooked up to the national grid since August 30, and received a permanent power production license on October 11.
Investing in solar energy fields fits in with the strategy of Noy Fund and its institutional investors - Poalim Capital Markets - Investment Bank Ltd., Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd. (TASE: CLIS), Menorah Mivtachim Holdings Ltd. (TASE: MORA), and DS Apex Holdings Ltd. (TASE:DSAP), as well as its private investors. The PV farm is a mature venture, with its set-up and regulation risks behind it, and guarantees a 20-year cash flow on the basis of the regulations for mid-sized solar energy facilities published by the Public Utilities Authority (Electricity). The Noy Fund, under CEO Pinchas Cohen, aims to achieve a return on capital of 12-15%.
Last week, "Globes" revealed that the Noy Fund is in talks to invest in another Arava Power and Kibbutz Ketura solar power project - a $200 million, 40-megawatt PV field that could provide a third of Eilat's electricity. The project is still in the preliminary stages in its application for a provisions power production permit.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on November 29, 2011
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