The Nordics and Baltics are at the forefront when it comes to electricity generation from renewable sources. In 2021, more than two thirds (68%) of all GWh generated in the region came from hydro, wind and solar. Carbon-emitting burning of fossil fuels – coal, oil and gas – amounted to three per cent.

Compare that to the entire continent of Europe, where (in 2020) the share between fossils (38%) and renewables (35%) was roughly even. Looking at global electricity generation (also 2020), we find that 61% of the world’s roughly 27 million GWh had fossil origins. Renewables, meanwhile, delivered 26%, or close to seven million GWh.

But the scene is changing. Thirty years ago, renewables meant hydropower. Wind and solar existed, but with negligible impact on electricity production. Even in Denmark, a global wind power pioneer, only about three per cent of electric power came from wind turbines in 1993.

Looking at the coming three decades, given that coal is being phased out and nuclear technology is facing significant reinvestment needs, Newsec’s prediction for the Nordics and Baltics is that renewable sources will continue growing in share and importance. While the growth capacity for hydro is limited due to various restrictions, wind and solar are estimated to almost triple in volume.

: IEA (Electricity production by source from 

series we publish charts which we find eye-opening, and provide context and commentary.

Where our electricity comes from | Newsec Charts

In the latest edition of the Newsec Property Outlook, Newsec has analyzed ESG trends on the real estate market in the Nordics and Baltics. In the report, Newsec has identified a number of ESG trends on the real estate market that have not been highlighted earlier.

Newsec finds that ESG has risen to the top of the agenda for many real estate firms in the Nordics and Baltics. However, despite interest being high and investments intensifying, several areas within the field of ESG are yet to be fully explored, while others are in the process of maturing. The coming years are bound to be filled with innovation and broadening of initiatives within the subject, where synergies between digitalization and ESG will be realized.

Newsec Property Outlook - Autumn 2022

: Head of Advisory Sweden, Newsec; Multiple Chairman of the Board positions within Newsec Group


: Board member, Fastigo; Board member, ULI Charitable Trust


: MSc in Business Administration, IHM Business School; Diploma in Management, Henley Business School


Managing Director Advisory and Investment Management, and Deputy CEO 

: Digital Transformation, Stronghold. CDO, Swedish Property Federation


: Software Engineering and Management, Chalmers University of Technology
Employee of Newsec since 2022


Managing Director Digital Accelerator

Plenty of property owners lack the time and resources to evaluate and pick technical solutions to keep up with digital transformation in the property industry. 

With connected buildings, property owners can achieve better customer experience and flexible spaces for their tenants while meeting more stringent regulatory requirements and new market demands.

In the real estate industry, digital transformation is becoming an increasingly important element in achieving business goals. Digitalization is also a tool to meet growing demands for sustainability and reduced climate impact, while at the same time meeting increased energy supply needs. Properties are a key component of the smart and sustainable city in everything from energy systems to logistics, deliveries, and mobility services.

Customers and businesses want smart and sustainable buildings

Tenants, banks, public authorities and the world at large are increasingly demanding connected and sustainable properties. In practice, this may include:

Smart solutions for flexible working, such as mobile access, visitor management, and check-in as well as digital booking of workspaces and meeting rooms - ideally in custom-built apps for internal use, but also external apps for tenants.

Properties and spaces that have the potential to be productive and thriving places for work, commerce, and living.

Properties that comply with energy and environmental standards set by the authorities and the wider community and meet society's climate targets.

To meet requirements, more technology needs to be incorporated into properties, for example connected systems to deliver data securely. This in turn leads to challenges that are often new to property owners, such as concerns about IT security.

When digitizing properties, owners could also pose the following questions

Is a proposed solution secure and scalable - both with respect to networks and information management?

, a strategy to gather data from different systems in the property in a central location to structure it and publish it to services and applications?

Is it possible to better predict and thereby plan operational and maintenance activities, and on top of that automate management processes?

Information from the property that provides fact-based insights. It enables property owners, together with Newsec, to better order purchases, measures, and technical solutions and to reduce costly systems or optimize space in an office.

All in all, property owners face a plethora of choices as they determine which technologies, applications and suppliers they need to address their unique challenges. Not to mention the issue of achieving efficient data exchange between those systems.

Our experience of using known technologies and tried-and-tested platforms has demonstrated (with emphasis) the importance of looking at the entire digital ecosystem, and making as few decisions as possible in isolation.

Key steps towards establishing a digital property

the “highway” to consistently connect systems and gain insights from the products and systems that are connected.

 to carry out technical measurement of energy systems (water, heating, cooling, and electricity) in the property. Sensors can also be installed for so-called insight measurement, which can include measuring how the premises are used or movement patterns.

. Integrating with existing building automation systems to extract information on operations as well as data on performance and alarms from the property.

- a digital copy and data model of the property using drawings and documents to digitally describe the property and have all information consolidated and represented in one place.

And on top of that, we recommend a method for real-time monitoring of cost drivers and energy consumers in a property, the first step towards efficiency gains.

The future of real estate is digital

In the latest edition of the Newsec Property Outlook, Newsec has analysed statements regarding Nordic & Baltic real estate that have arisen during the downturn and concluded whether or not these statements are true or Urban Legends. In the report, Newsec provides advice on how to tackle the new environment, what to look out for and what the future holds.

Newsec Property Outlook - Spring 2023

Newsec acted as exclusive financial adviser to Mirova, an affiliate of Natixis Investment Management dedicated to sustainable investment via its funds Mirova Eurofideme 3 and Mirova Renewable Co-Investment 1, and to Eolus Wind (jointly the “Sellers”) on the sale of an operating wind farm portfolio in Sweden. The portfolio includes the 19.8 MW Långmarken wind farm in Kristinehamn, Southern Sweden (SE3) and the 27.6 MW Våsberget wind farm in Ljusdal, Northern Sweden (SE2).

The sale marks the Sellers’ exit from the portfolio following the pre-construction investment decision in 2015 and the first five years of operations. Both wind farms have been operational since 2017 and offer a versatile multi-option PPA offtake framework with Statkraft until 2032, allowing for short and medium-term strategic adaptability.

The portfolio is acquired by Glennmont Partners (“Glennmont”), Nuveen Infrastructure’s clean energy specialist and one of the world’s largest fund managers investing in clean energy. The investment is Glennmont’s first from their open-ended €700m brownfield European renewable infrastructure fund, which Glennmont launched with Dutch investor MN last year.

Commenting on the investment, Raphaël Lance, Head of Energy Transition Funds at Mirova said:

“We are proud to have brought in operation this Swedish portfolio with the help of initial developers and construction companies Eolus and RES Renewables Norden and with the support of our co-investor EIB. After almost six years of operations, in line with our third fund mandate, we are delighted to hand it over to the experienced teams at Nuveen.”

Commenting on the cooperation with Newsec Infra, Raphaël Lance continued:

“As in 2015, we are very satisfied by Newsec Infra’s support on this transaction. Through its deep knowledge of the Nordics environment and its considerable experience, Newsec Infra ensured a smooth and reliable sale process, which brought significant value for both the seller and the buyer.”

Omid Ashrafi, Managing Partner at Newsec commented:

“We are very thankful for the vote of confidence, being able to support this transaction. We worked with Mirova at the time of their investment decision in Våsberget in 2015 and now have the pleasure of also following this project, as part of the portfolio, all the way to exit in operating phase. Due to the rapid build-out of onshore wind in Sweden, we now have a considerable asset base forming an increasingly active secondary market. “Project Blizzard” is our third Nordic operating wind farm transaction signed in 2022. I believe that we will continue to see new inflow of capital for construction of renewable energy assets as well as into transactions with operating assets”.

Newsec advises on 47 MW operating wind portfolio in Sweden

Although the technical system is still part of the Telephone House at Borups Allé, the technique does not take up nearly as much space as it used to. This has contributed to space available for other purposes.
An optimization of the property has been implemented, where large areas for technical purposes were converted into primarily office space for the benefit of other companies. Over time, the property has evolved from a domicile to a multi-user house with different tenants, as our customer no longer has the same space needs.
NEWSEC has also rented 1,500 m² on the ground floor to the REPEAT fitness center. The other vacant areas are converted primarily into offices, with a central and visible location, close to 2 metro stations and to a reasonable rent and total economy. Renting for public use was not surprising.

We have now completed 3 rentals in total, of which 2 to the Municipality of Copenhagen totaling 16,000 m².

Another lease on behalf of TDC to Copenhagen municipality

Newsec acted as exclusive financial adviser to international solar developer ib vogt on its sale of a 206 MWp solar PV project to Finnish energy company Helen. The solar farm is located in Kalanti, Uusikaupunki, in South-West Finland and is ready to be built. As part of the offered turn-key solution, ib vogt will provide full EPC, O&M and Asset Management services and start construction in the second quarter 2023.

With the location in Finland having similar solar radiation levels to northern Germany, the solar power plant is expected to produce more than 200 GWh of clean energy per year, once it reaches commercial operation starting in late 2024. The solar project marks a milestone for ib vogt as the first plant to be built in a Nordic country and is exemplary for the continuous growth and internationalization of the company. The PV farm will consist of more than 380,000 high-capacity bifacial solar modules built on a fixed-tilt substructure for optimal performance. The panels will produce clean solar electricity equivalent to the average annual consumption of approximately 28,800 households, while saving up to 17,600 tons of CO2 per year.

Commenting on the sale, Hamish Duncan, Head of Project Sales at ib vogt said:

“We are very pleased to have completed the Kalanti transaction with Helen, and look forward to our continued partnership as the project now moves into construction and operations. The project marks a significant milestone for both ib vogt and the renewable energy market in Finland, and we are excited to further build upon this success in the years to come. We thank the Newsec Infra team for their dedication to driving the process forward and solution-orientated approach to the transaction – their depth of expertise in Nordic renewable energy M&A is evident, and we are very pleased to have cooperated with them.”

“We are delighted to work with ib vogt on this sales process and to conclude the transaction with Helen. While we have in recent years been part of a number of large-scale onshore wind deals, this is a landmark solar PV transaction for the Nordic market. The combination of ib vogt’s international expertise and track record within PV and Helen’s position as a leading power producer in Finland, expanding its production mix with solar makes this an interesting partnership. This sale marks Newsec Infra’s third large solar transaction in the Nordics this year.”

The future of real estate is digital

Newsec Property Outlook - Spring 2023

Where our electricity comes from | Newsec Charts

“ESG is not only the moment of truth, but an opportunity of a lifetime for the real estate market.”

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