Iberdrola signs 10-year solar PPA with Supermercati Tosano; JPee to sell solar power to Crédit Agricole; 1KOMMA5° & Enpal criticize BSW's demand for resilience bonus; Aquila sells stake to Commerzbank; EKW completes solar wall in Switzerland; Good Energy acquiring JPS in UK.
Iberdrola signs corporate solar PPA in Italy: Italian supermarket chain Supermercati Tosano has entered a long-term solar power purchase agreement (PPA) with Iberdrola. It will source 20 GWh solar power annually from Iberdola's plants in Italy for 10 years. Tosano says this green energy will power its supermarkets from Verona to Vicenza, from Brescia to Venice and from Udine to Ferrara. The company operates more than 19 hypermarkets in the country. Iberdrola currently operates 2 solar power projects in Italy. By 2025, it aims to grow its local portfolio to 400 MW. The Spanish energy group recently announced exceeding 42 GW of renewable energy capacity with the addition of around 3.25 GW in the last 12 months.
Solar CPPA for JP Energie: French renewable energy independent power producer (IPP) JP Energie Environnement (JPee) has signed a corporate power purchase agreement (CPPA) with French lender Crédit Agricole Group. Under the 20-year agreement, the latter will purchase solar power from JP out of 2 solar parks in France. It will help Crédit Agricole cover around 3.5% of its annual electricity output. JPee will deploy these 2 solar farms under the transaction on wasteland. On completion in April 2025, these are expected to generate 18.3 GWh/year. Crédit Agricole is studying several other solar electricity projects.
1KOMMA5° not on the same page as solar association: German solar unicorn 1KOMMA5°is not on board the German Federal Association for the Solar Industry or BSW Solar. The company's CEO Philipp Schröder said his firm stands against the resilience bonus as being advocated by the association. The BSW apparently sees merit in resilience bonus that is to be paid for renewable energy systems built using locally produced components. It wants the same to be included in the German government's Solar Package I. Schröder argues that under the disguise of production bonus, the association intends to inhibit intra-European competition, investment and innovation. It will make it 'massively more difficult' for new European providers like itself. The move will make newcomers such as 1KOMMA5° compete against subsidized players within Germany and also the Chinese. He writes, "A German bureaucratic special path leads 1KOMMA5° as a European provider in 6 EU countries back into the subsidy jungle and a patchwork quilt that is toxic for innovations."
According to Schröder, "In addition, the 'production bonus' would mean additional costs for taxpayers of an estimated 700 million euros per gigawatt of output, while this output only corresponds to around 10,000 single-family homes."
Enpal criticizes resilience bonus demand: The statement of 1KOMMA5° against resilience bonus is followed by another German installer Enpal. It says any such proposal coming into force would mean customers canceling existing orders to wait for subsidized modules to become available that do not exist in requisite quantities at present. It would endanger the existence of many solar companies and increase their risk of insolvency. Enpal sees the current version of the resilience bonus to benefit disproportionately only a small number of manufacturers with combined module and cell production, thus creating an entry barrier for companies to manufacture modules or intermediate products.
Enpal Founder and CEO Mario Kohl said, "Instead of supporting the establishment of new factories, the so-called resilience bonus undermines competition, promotes monopoly-like structures and torpedoes the sustainable revival of the domestic solar industry."
The German installer says it is significantly accelerating the internationalization of its own business and drastically reducing investments within Germany due to planning uncertainty in the country as a business location. It demands alternative proposals for direct support for the entire industry.
Commerzbank investment in Aquila Capital: Germany's Commerzbank has acquired 74.9% stake in investment manager Aquila Capital Investmentgesellschaft to mobilize capital for energy transition. Aquila says this investment will develop it into one of the leading asset managers for sustainable investment strategies in Europe. It will enable the company to extend its offering in the clean energy, green infrastructure and sustainable real estate investment solutions to its private clients, along with institutional and business clients. Commerzbank has 26,000 corporate client groups and is present in over 40 nations.
Solar wall in Switzerland: Engadiner Kraftwerke (EKW) recently commissioned a new alpine PV system on the retaining wall between the tunnel portal and the wall of Punt dal Gall dam on Lake Livigno in Switzerland. The Swiss hydropower company said 478 solar panels with a combined 200 kW output now cover the existing retaining wall along the connecting road between the tunnel portal and the guard's house. This solar array will benefit from high location and low temperatures along with the intense reflection of the reservoir and the surrounding winter landscape. It is expected to generate around 230,000 kWh clean power/year.
Good Energy Acquires JPS: UK-based renewable energy group Good Energy has acquired the Kent-headquartered solar and storage installer JPS Renewable Energy, along with the latter's solar wholesale and distribution business Trust Solar. The brands it distributes includes those from Enphase Energy and Tesla. Calling itself the largest voluntary administrator of the feed-in-tariff scheme in the UK, Good Energy says this acquisition is aimed at growing its clout as a premium and trusted green energy supplier. Good Energy ventured into the installation services business in 2023 with WessexECOenergy.