Akuo Energy commissions 181 MW in Portugal: France’s Akuo Energy has commissioned the 181 MW Santas Solar Plant in Portugal’s Alentejo region, calling it one of the country’s largest solar power plants. The project spans across the municipalities of Monforte, Borba, and Estremoz. It is equipped with 336,448 low-carbon PV modules on trackers. It is part of a 540 MW portfolio that includes 2 more PV plant projects in the Gavião area out of which one of the projects is under construction. Akuo said the Santas project is financed by MEAG and Eiffel Investment Group. It now wants to expand the same by an additional 45 MW capacity for which the company has launched a crowdfunding campaign on Lendosphere for an initial €1 million to support this capacity. It is open to all European Union (EU) citizens, but first to Portuguese citizens and businesses. The company aims for the 45 MW capacity to be grid-connected in October 2025, and fully operational by December 2025. Electricity generated by the extension of the plant may be sold under the general regime or through a bilateral contract.
German JV for renewable energy: Brandenburg, Germany based ENERTRAG and Energiequelle have launched a joint venture (JV) to focus on energy transition in the Lusatia region. The JV Grünstrom Lausitz GmbH will start with the development of renewable energy plants near Schwarze Pumpe Industrial Park. They plan to put together their combined experience in project development and in the operation of wind and solar power plants. One central focus of their partnership is cooperation with municipalities and local partners. Municipalities benefit from the money the company will pay for the lease of municipal land, trade tax revenues and from ‘wind and solar euro.’ Under the latter arrangement in Brandenburg, wind and solar power operators pay a special levy to eligible communities during the operation of their projects (see German State Launches Solar Expansion Offensive).
PPC expands in Greece: The Public Power Corporation Group (PPC), the Greek government controlled public utility, has acquired a portfolio of renewable energy projects in Greece from Copelouzos and Samaras Groups. It comprises 66.6 MW operational capacity, with 43.3 MW of wind and 23.3 MW of solar PV projects, and up to 1.7 GW of projects under development that the trio will develop jointly, according to a company statement referred to by the local media. The PPC has reportedly paid €106 million to acquire the 1.7 GW capacity. Definitive agreements are to be signed by the end of the year.
80 MW solar in Lithuania: Nordic Solar is building its 2nd solar park in Lithuania with 80 MW of installed capacity near the country’s capital Vilnius in the Svencionys region. It is scheduled to be grid-connected in Q1 2025. It is being built using the company’s patented steel construction design that captures more sun from the bifacial modules mounted on the solution. It also used this design for its 100 MW Moletai Solar Plant in the country as the country’s largest PV project when it was commissioned in March 2024 (see Lithuania’s ‘Largest’ Solar Power Station Commissioned).
Solar PPA for Carrefour in Italy: French renewable energy firm Qair has signed a power purchase agreement (PPA) with France-based global retailer Carrefour for a solar power plant in Italy. Qair will develop the ‘additional’ solar plant with 52 MW capacity in the Latium region by 2026. Carrefour targets to achieve 100% of its electricity from renewables by 2030. Qair said this partnership will support Carrefour in its decarbonization, with this 1st stage supplying a consequent part of Carrefour Italia’s consumption. Carrefour Italia’s CFO Jean Francois Dohogne said that this contract will allow it around 75 GWh of renewable energy/year, the equivalent of powering 30 of its hypermarkets.
JLR’s solar investment: Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) has announced plans to transform its Halewood production facility in the UK with a £500 million investment. Part of these plans include the installation of 18,000 solar panels to produce 8,600 GWh of energy. This will be equivalent to 10% of the site’s energy consumption. JLR said it aims to remove 40,000 tons of carbon emissions from Halewood’s industrial footprint with a mix of renewables, fuel switching and energy efficiency products. This will contribute to its overarching target of becoming net zero by 2039. The Halewood site has been a purpose-built manufacturing site for JLR that the company now wants to turn into its all-electric production facility. It will continue to manufacture internal combustion engine (ICE) and hybrid Range Rover Evoque and Discovery Sport alongside future battery electric vehicles (BEV) products at the site.
AZTN approval for Croatian deal: The Agency for the Protection of Market Competition (AZTN) in Croatia has cleared the joint acquisition of 2 solar PV projects in the country by a subsidiary of Slovenia’s Alternative Financial Investments, ALFI Renewables, and Austria’s Ivicom Holding. The 2 projects are identified as Slavonija Power and Bilogora Power.
DAS Solar in the UK: Chinese solar PV manufacturer DAS Solar exhibited its n-type 4.0 modules and lightweight panels at the recently concluded Solar and Storage Live in Birmingham, UK. It specifically showcased its 620 W 72-cell bifacial dual-glass modules, 515 60-cell DAS black rectangular modules, 465 W 54-cell rectangular modules with black-framed and framed lightweight modules. Its presence at the event is part of the company’s strategy to expand in Europe. In recent years, the company says it has established subsidiaries in Europe to build a comprehensive localized sales and service network.