STEAG’s Iqony brings solar & wind business under single division; Green Genius lands finance for Latvian project; Cubico expands Italian portfolio to 1 GW; Arise & Finsilva join hands in Finland; Conrad’s 45 MW UK project online; AIKO partners with Norwegian solar cell supplier.
Iqony’s new business unit: The green growth division of Germany’s STEAG Group Iqony has announced merging its solar and wind business into a joint business unit. The Iqony subsidiary, under whose umbrella both business areas will be bundled in the future, has been operating as Iqony Sustainable Energy Solutions GmbH (Iqony Sens) since May 30, 2024. The new unit will undertake project development and management as an independent power producer (IPP). Power generated by the assets under this will be marketed via the group’s Iqony trading division. The EPC and O&M division will construct and maintain the projects. Earlier, STEAG had bundled its green business initiatives under Iqony, separating it from the black coal business (see Germany’s Steag Separates Renewable Energy Business).
€87 million for solar in Latvia: Lithuania’s Green Genius has secured €87 million ($94 million) to start the construction of the ‘biggest’ standalone solar park in Latvia. The 121 MW project in Jekabpils will be developed on 151 hectares of land. The total planned investment in the project is estimated at over €100 million with the Berenberg Bank loaning €26 million ($28 million) and Nord LB €61 million ($66 million). It is scheduled to come online in mid-2025.
1 GW for Cubico in Italy: Cubico Sustainable Investments has reached over 1 GW of renewable energy projects under development in Italy. Its development portfolio of wind, solar and battery energy storage systems (BESS) now comprises 28 projects, including an operational portfolio of around 50 projects. The initial development projects are expected to reach ready-to-build (RTB) status in early 2025.
500 MW partnership for Finland: Swedish renewable energy company Arise AB has announced a cooperation agreement with Finsilva, one of Finland’s ‘largest’ landowners. Arise’s Finnish subsidiary Pohjan Voima will develop new wind and solar power projects, representing approximately 500 MW greenfield capacity in collaboration with Finsilva. It may also include battery storage projects.
AIKO partners with Solcellespesialisten: Solar cell and module manufacturer AIKO has joined hands with Norwegian solar cell supplier Solcellespesialisten to provide advanced all back contact (ABC) modules to a 13 MW project of Pareto. A solar power projects developer, Pareto is developing the Pareto P4 Project under which solar modules will be installed across several major commercial and industrial (C&I) buildings in Norway. AIKO says this is one of the largest solar projects in the country in recent years. Solcellespesialisten is in charge of planning and installing the project. According to AIKO, its solar modules were selected for meeting the high criteria from an ESG perspective, along with their other attributes.
Larport Solar Farm online in the UK: UK-based solar PV projects developer Conrad Energy has commissioned a solar farm at Larport in UK’s Herefordshire, located on a flood plain. The 45 MW solar project was completed by EPC contractor Ethical Power. All of the 40,000 MWh of renewable electricity it will generate annually will be purchased by financial services company BNP Paribas to decarbonize its operations over the project’s 40-year lifecycle.
Global solar partnership for Manchester City: England’s professional football club Manchester City has entered a new global partnership with Chinese solar PV company JinkoSolar. As the club’s official solar energy partner, JinkoSolar will connect and engage with the club’s fans globally to jointly promote the use of solar energy, and educate fans on contributing towards a sustainable future. According to the club, the Chinese company will also support the club’s plans to make its training facility, the City Football Academy, one of the largest producers of renewable energy in world football as the club targets going net zero by 2030.
