RWE building initial solar & storage projects in UK; Sunly & Metsagrupp launch 244 MW plant in Estonia; Korkia & Global Consulting Energy join hands in Italy; Low Carbon bags corporate solar PPA in UK; Huasun bags Balkans module order ; European Energy's Australian expansion.
RWE's UK projects: Germany's RWE has broken ground on its 1st solar farms in the UK. It has begun construction of the 7 farms with 330 MW combined capacity of solar and 45 MW co-located battery projects. All the facilities are winners of the UK government's contracts for difference (CfD) scheme. Ethical Power and Equans UK & Ireland have been awarded construction contracts for the 7 projects. These are the 1st projects to be constructed from the solar portfolio secured by the company through its acquisition of JBM Solar in 2023 with its 3.8 GW solar and 2.3 GW battery storage development pipeline (see RWE Strengthens Position In UK & US RE Markets). RWE aims to commission an average of 450 MW of new solar capacity/year in the UK till 2030, and increase its installed solar capacity globally to 16 GW from 3.9 GW at present.
244 MW solar park in Estonia: Estonian renewable energy developer Sunly, along with Finland's forest industry group Metsagrupp, has started work on the 244 MW solar park in Estonia. Construction on the site will begin in Q2/2024 with completion scheduled in early 2026. Located in Lääne-Nigula municipality, it is estimated to cost nearly €120 million ($131 million). The Risti Solar Park will be the largest solar park in the Baltics on completion, according to Sunly. It is part of a larger energy park the duo plans to install. The company raised project financing from mBank for its Polish solar portfolio recently (see €66 Million Project Financing Announced For Polish Solar Parks).
Partnership for Italy: Finnish renewable energy investor Korkia has launched a partnership with renewables developer Global Consulting Energy for the Italian market. The 2 companies plan to develop up to 1 GW PV capacity in the country on greenfield and brownfield sites. They will also explore agrivoltaic projects. Initial projects are scheduled to reach the ready-to-build (RTB) stage by 2024-end. In December 2023, Korkia announced partnership with BIWO Renewables to develop 1 GW solar capacity in Italy, including ground-mounted PV and agrivoltaic facilities along with standalone storage facilities (see Partnership To Develop 1 GW Solar PV Capacity In Italy).
Corporate solar PPA in the UK: Renewable energy investment company Low Carbon has signed a 10-year corporate power purchase agreement (PPA) with the Lloyds Banking Group for 50 GWh solar power supply/year. Power generated will be supplied from the company's Meadow Solar Farm in Hampshire and Pepperhill Solar Farm in Shropshire. Lloyds is the original partner of Low Carbon's multi-bank £540 million ($691 million) finance facility that supports the construction of a 1 GW solar portfolio in the UK and the Netherlands.
Chinese modules in the Balkans: Chinese heterojunction (HJT) producer solar cell and module maker Huasun Energy has secured a 500 MW module supply order from an unidentified solar project developer in the Balkans. It will supply Himalaya G12-132 high efficiency HJT modules under the contract. Huasun says this follows the Chinese company's recent supply order for 3 GW capacity from a leading European solar project investor for the Balkan Peninsula.
European Energy expanding in Australia: European Energy is constructing its maiden operating solar farm in Australia. The 56 MW solar farm is coming up in the Hume region of Victoria on a 94-hectare site. To be equipped with bifacial solar panels, the Mokoan Solar Farm will be completed in 2025. It is backed by a loan facility from NORD/LB Singapore Branch. Danish renewable energy developer European Energy has big plans for Australia where it touts over 5 GW capacity under active development and another 3 GW in screening.