New 500 MW Solar Partnership For Europe

• Korkia and Climate ER have announced a JV to co-develop up to 500 MW solar power projects in Europe
• Their focus will be to develop this capacity of RTB projects over the next 3 years
• Maiden project of the partnership is a 45 MW solar facility in the UK that may also be used to generate green hydrogen in the future

Finland based renewable energy company Korkia has launched a new joint venture (JV) with UK focused solar developer Climate ER to develop up to 500 MW of ready-to-build (RTB) solar power projects in Europe, over the next 3 years.

The duo has identified 45 MW Mere Flats Solar Farm in the UK as the JV's maiden project. On completion, it is expected to generate enough electricity to supply power to 13,000 average homes in the country. In future, they may consider using this project to generate green hydrogen to be used for haulage transport across South Yorkshire and electric vehicle (EV) charging.

A subsidy free project 'due to significant advances in technology over recent years', the project will be designed to deliver predictable and stable green electricity into the UK grid for up to 40 years, they added.

Touting a total of over 4 GW solar and wind power development portfolio in Europe and Latin America, Helsinki headquartered Korkia will finance the JV and its projects through a private equity fund through which it invests on renewable energy project development companies in the continent.

"Our petrol prices are at record highs, and our electricity bills have skyrocketed in an unstable geo-political world and a fragile global economy. Everyone knows that we cannot continue to rely on imported energy and fossil fuels that are causing climate change," said Managing Director of Climate ER, Owen Saward.

The UK recently announced its new Energy Security Strategy under which solar PV will be grown 5-fold to about 70 GW by 2035, something that's encouraging investors to focus on this market, for instance Centrica and Push Solar said they plan to jointly deliver 900 MW solar and battery storage capacity for the UK by 2026 (see Centrica Plans 900 MW Solar & Storage By 2026).

As demand for solar grows in gigantic proportions, it is necessary to reflect on how to manage it right. TaiyangNews is bringing together industry colleagues from Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BloombergNEF), Gessey NewEnergy Info, JinkoSolar and Enerparc in a webinar on April 21, 2022 to discuss solar demand, supply and prices in Europe, today and tomorrow. Join the webinar European Solar Developments 2022 by registering free here.