Osborne Clarke advises JLEN on the £4.3M acquisition of Yorkshire Hydropower Holdings

International legal practice Osborne Clarke has advised John Laing Environmental Assets Group Limited (JLEN) on the acquisition of two operational low head hydropower stations and a battery storage system for a total consideration, including working capital, of £4.3 million.

The Yorkshire-based projects acquired, are:

• Kirkthorpe hydro, a 500kW single turbine hydro project located on the River Calder, which was commissioned on 21 November 2016;
• Thrybergh hydro, a twin screw 260kW hydro project located on the River Don, commissioned 26 October 2015; and
• a 1.2MW battery co-located at Thrybergh, commissioned in January 2018.

Both hydro projects are accredited under the 20-year Feed-in-Tariff scheme. The battery storage project at Thrybergh is currently dedicated to a Firm Frequency Response contract.

This acquisition increases the total capacity of renewable energy assets in the JLEN investment portfolio to 281.16MW.

It represents JLEN's first investment in two new sectors – run-of-river hydro and battery storage, further diversifying its portfolio of environmental infrastructure projects including, wind, solar, anaerobic digestion, waste and wastewater.

The Osborne Clarke team was led by corporate Partner Adam Love and Energy and Utilities Sector Leader and Partner James Watson. Adam and James were assisted by corporate Senior Associate Alex Underwood, corporate Associate Sarah Mitchell and corporate paralegal Kristy Hart. The broader Osborne Clarke team consisted of energy specialists from across the firm including energy Partner Alan John and Senior Associate Caroline Bush, real estate Partner Dave Kerr, planning Associate Director John Webster, construction Partner Carl Thompson and Senior Associate Duncan Parker, environment Partner Matthew Germain, tax Partner Erika Jupe and tax Senior Associate Helena Zaba and banking Partner Jakub Kubicki.

JLEN is a respected client of Osborne Clarke and this is the fifth successful acquisition the team has advised JLEN on, having acted on its acquisition of Biogas Meden Limited in December 2018, Merlin in August 2018 and two AD plants in July 2018.

Osborne Clarke has an established and well-respected position as one of the leading law firms advising on renewable energy projects and transactions. For over 20 years, it has helped clients to seize new opportunities and meet the challenges of making energy generation clean, affordable and secure. The combination of the team’s experience and understanding of the energy sector means they are regularly called upon to support businesses on all aspects of their commercial, regulatory, corporate, finance and construction legal needs.