Sunly, the Estonia-headquartered renewable energy developer, has raised senior non-recourse project financing from the Polish banking group mBank to develop 98 MW of solar PV capacity in Poland.
The €65.9 million financing will help it undertake the construction of 58 solar PV farms that represent this combined capacity. Most of these are spread across the southern part of the country, in the provinces of Małopolska, Opole, Podkarpackie, Silesia, and Świętokrzyskie.
The proceeds will also help it refinance its earlier investments in Poland, including the construction of the 60 MW Rzezawa 60 solar farm in Rzezawa, near Kraków.
"From the outset, Poland has been a highly attractive market for us. It's already the second-largest renewables market in the European Union, with significant growth potential. Industry forecasts suggest that within the next three years, installed capacity is expected to double, and Sunly aims to contribute substantially to this growth," said Sunly Founder and CEO Priit Lepasepp.
The Estonian company counts its operational and under construction capacity as 164 MW and 167 MW, comprising solar energy projects. It touts over 13 GW each of solar, onshore and offshore wind capacity in its pipeline and under development.
Over the next few years, Sunly said it plans to build hybrid renewable energy projects with solar, wind and battery storage technologies representing a combined 4.6 GW capacity. These will be located across Poland and the Baltics.
Poland was one of the top 5 solar markets in the EU in 2023 with the addition of 4.6 GW, according to SolarPower Europe's European Market Outlook for Solar Power 2023-2027 (see EU Solar PV Installations Reach 56 GW In 2023).
This financing for Sunly follows the €22 million it raised in December 2023 from Swedbank to build 6 solar parks in Latvia with a total 52 MW capacity. All of these projects will be operational in 2024.