DIF Capital Acquires UK’s Largest Co-Located Solar & Battery Projects

• DIF Capital Partners & ib vogt acquires 100% of EGHL's greenfield portfolio of ready-to-build co-located solar and battery projects
• DIF Capital will own 90% of the porfolio, while ib vogt will be responsible for providing solar EPC and O&M services
• The acquisition will be complete when each site reaches the ready-to-build stage, and there are seven sites
• It is expected the acquisition will be completed between 2024 and 2026

Independent infrastructure fund manager, DIF Capital Partners, announced that it has signed an acquisition deal with Cero Generation and Enso Energy for the largest UK co-location portfolio of solar and battery storage.

With this, the company, along with international solar developer, ib vogt, will be acquiring 100% interest in UK-based Enso Green Holdings Limited (EGHL)'s greenfield portfolio of ready-to-build co-located solar and battery projects. EGHL is a joint venture between Cero Generation and Enso Energy. DIF, whose investment is being done through its DIF Infrastructure VII fund, is acquiring 90% of the portfolio.

Developed by EGHL, the portfolio has a total capacity of 720 MW (380 MW solar and 340 MW battery storage) distributed over  7 sites. The acquisition will be complete when each site reaches the ready-to-build stage. It is expected that all the projects will be acquired by the middle of this year and will be put into operation between 2024 and 2026. ib vogt will be providing solar EPC and O&M services.

Commenting on this acquisition, Partner and Head of Infrastructure at DIF Capital Partners, Gijs Voskuyl, said: "This transaction perfectly fits in DIF's build to core strategy and will make a significant contribution to the UK's efforts to achieve net zero by 2050. It represents DIF's first direct investment into the asset class of utility scale energy storage, which is an essential component of future electricity markets. DIF is continuing to work closely with Enso Energy and Cero Generation to bring the remaining assets in the portfolio to ready-to-build stage and is excited to make this investment in a partnership with ib vogt".

Echoing similar sentiments, CEO of Cero Generation, Marta Martínez Queimadelos, said: "We are delighted that DIF and ib vogt will be taking forward this sizeable portfolio into the next phase of its lifecycle. They will be continuing our work with Enso Energy following the development of the projects from conception through planning, and successfully to ready-to-build. This portfolio will make a significant contribution to the UK's efforts to achieve net zero by 2050, with the co-location of solar and battery storage playing a key role in the de-carbonisation of the grid. We will continue to develop and deliver the UK solar and battery projects in the joint venture's existing pipeline, which extends to 5GW, and a further 5GW of early-stage opportunities."

Meanwhile, Managing Director of Enso Andrew King said, "The sale of these ready-to-build assets is the culmination of a lot of hard work by the Enso and Cero teams, and we look forward to seeing the DIF/ib vogt team take them forward to construction and operation. This transaction provides further evidence that co-located solar and battery storage projects connecting directly to the transmission network are attractive to funders and investors and will play an important role in the delivery of the UK's net zero plans".

Currently, DIF and ib vogt are busy raising a non-recourse debt financing facility, which will fund the construction of the portfolio. Meanwhile, in November last year, DIF Capital had invested in Swedish solar developer (see Europe PV News Snippets)