Europe Solar PV News Snippets

Sonnedix & Eiffage join hands; TotalEnergies' onsite solar PPA totals 1.5 GW; Recurrent Energy acquires 420 MW+ in Spain; KKR to acquire Encavis; Statkraft's German PPA with Vitesco; Greenvolt raises €36 million; Hoymiles partners with VDH Solar; Enviromena acquires 70 MW in UK. 

Sonnedix signs EPC contract: Renewable energy producer Sonnedix has signed its maiden EPC framework agreement with the European construction and concession company Eiffage. The latter has entered the agreement through its Spanish brand Eiffage Energia Sistemas. Under the Framework Agreement, Eiffage will undertake construction activities for Sonnedix's pipeline of projects in Spain, Italy, and Portugal under standardized general terms and conditions, which will apply to all future EPC agreements with Eiffage Energia Sistemas. Across these markets, Sonnedix currently has 858 MW of renewable energy projects under construction and a further development pipeline of 1.72 GW. Sonnedix says this agreement will enable it to save time and resources that it would otherwise spend in obtaining standalone EPC agreements. 

TotalEnergies' PPA count grows: French energy group TotalEnergies says its total signed renewable energy power purchase agreements (PPA) count has reached over 1.5 GW. These are the solar power agreements it has signed so far with more than 600 commercial and industrial (C&I) customers for onsite self-consumption and grid connection. Of this, 1.1 GW is already operational producing 1.5 TWh annually. The remaining 400 MW is set to be commissioned by 2024-end. According to the management, "By solarizing its customers' sites, TotalEnergies will support the energy transition of various industries, including agrifood, automotive, cement, digital, manufacturing, metals, mining, retail, and warehousing." 

Recurrent Energy expands in Spain: Canadian Solar subsidiary Recurrent Energy has acquired a solar PV portfolio of more than 420 MW in Spain. Located in the Carmona municipality of Seville in Andalusia, the portfolio comprises 4 projects—Rey I, II, III, and IV. All the projects are currently under construction and will use Canadian Solar's TopBiHiKu7 n-type bifacial TOPCon solar modules from Canadian Solar. Projects will generate close to 916,000 MWh of clean energy/year. 

KKR investing in Encavis: Leading global investment firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts (KKR) is set to acquire the German renewable energy platform and independent power producer (IPP) Encavis. KKR has entered into an investment agreement with Encavis as part of a takeover offer with a total equity value of around €2.8 billion ($3 billion). KKR's investment vehicle Elbe BidCo is offering a cash consideration of €17.50/share for Encavis. It has also signed binding agreements with Abacon Capital and other existing shareholders of Encavis that represent close to 31% of the total share capital of Encavis. The German family company Viessmann GmbH will also invest as a co-investor in the KKR-led consortium. Currently, Encavis has a total power generation capacity of around 3.6 GW with another 1.2 GW under construction. BidCo says it aims to reach 7 GW of installed capacity by 2027-end and take Encavis further to compete with the largest European players. 

RE PPA in Germany: German automotive supplier Vitesco Technologies has been sourcing around 10,500 MWh of solar power and around 17,300 MWh of wind power annually from Statkraft since January 2024. Over the 3-year contract, Vitesco will offtake 83,000 MWh of clean energy to cover a significant portion of electricity requirements of its German sites. Statkraft is supplying solar power under contract from its Ihlenfeld Solar Park in Neuenkirchen, Mecklenburg. This contract will contribute to the long-term financing of the solar park. Vitesco claims it has been sourcing its electricity exclusively from renewable energy since 2020. 

Project finance for 57 MW in Hungary: Greenvolt Power has secured a €36 million project finance with UniCredit Bank Hungary for a 57 MW solar power plant. The Hungarian project is currently under construction, scheduled to reach commercial operations by the end of H1/2024. It is designed to generate 87 GWh annually when connected to the national grid. Power generated will be sold under Hungary's feed-in-tariff (FIT) support scheme. 

Dutch contract for Hoymiles: Chinese module-level power electronics (MLPE) supplier Hoymiles has announced a strategic collaboration with the Dutch solar distributor VDH Solar. Hoymiles said it will benefit from VDH's extensive distribution network across Europe. 

70 MW solar farm changes hands in the UK: Enviromena has acquired a 70 MW solar farm in Medebridge, Essex in the United Kingdom (UK) from sustainable infrastructure investors NTR plc. This large-scale solar farm has already secured planning consent, grid connection and land agreements. Construction is planned to start in the summer with completion expected in summer 2025. It will generate more than 71,000 MWh/annum. This is part of the clean energy solutions company's strategy to deliver 500 MW operational solar projects across the UK by 2025. The acquisition of the project is supported by Enviromena's £65 million fundraising in 2023 from Arjun Infrastructure Partners (see Europe Solar PV News Snippets).