Land for 500 MW in Sweden: Swedish solar company Svea Solar has secured land to build close to 500 MW of new solar PV capacity in the country under several land agreements. It is signing these agreements with one of the largest private forest owners in the world, Stora Enso, shared Svea. It says these locations were chosen based on good opportunities for grid connection and areas with minimal impact on other interests, such as animals and nature. “It is luxurious to collaborate with a large landowner, we have selected the locations on their land that are most favorable for solar parks and with low natural values,” said Svea Solar’s Head of Solar Parks, Pieter Godderis. Construction is planned to begin on the initial project in 2026.
€28.8 million for solar in Romania: The Romanian Ministry of Energy has approved €28.8 million to support the construction of 105 solar projects with a combined 23.1 MW capacity. Several of these winning projects will benefit local communes, across the country. These projects were selected for grants from the Modernization Fund under a competitive auction for renewable energy sources and energy storage to support self-consumption. So far, the ministry has signed and financed 633 contracts from such calls, representing a combined 237.4 MW. “These investments offer municipalities and public institutions the opportunity to build and operate photovoltaic parks, significantly reducing energy costs. In many cases, these capacities cover up to 70% of the institutions' energy needs, from public lighting to the operation of schools and hospitals,” stated the Energy Ministry.
148 MW solar project in Latvia: Denmark-based renewable energy developer European Energy has secured financing for its 148 MW solar project in Latvia. The €68 million financing comprises Nordic Investment Bank’s (NIB) €28 million, with Luminor Bank and NORD/LB as the other lenders. The project in Ventspils municipality is developed by European Energy’s subsidiary Stelo Orienta SIA. The project construction is scheduled to begin in early 2025 and grid connected in Q1 2026. NIB President and CEO André Küüsvek said, “The desynchronisation from the Russian and Belarusian power grids will heighten the need for reliable domestic energy generation in the Baltics. Creating new renewable capacities will help the Baltic states towards energy independence.” European Energy had divested half of the park to pension fund Sampension in December 2024.
27 MW project in Serbia: Israel-based Nofar Energy has successfully grid-connected the 27 MW Ada Solar Project in Serbia. This project expands the company’s total portfolio of connected and under-construction projects, which now stands at 2.4 GW of solar and 1.2 GWh of energy storage.
Energy storage inventory: The European Commission has launched the European Energy Storage Inventory to provide a single source of all planned and existing energy storage projects in Europe. Wood Mackenzie is the data provider for this inventory, available on the commission’s website.
10-year VPPA in Poland: European renewable energy EPC company GoldenPeaks Capital has signed a 10-year power purchase agreement (PPA) with the ceramics manufacturer for the automotive industry, NGK Ceramics Polska, in Poland. It will virtually supply 125 GWh/year of clean energy under the contracts from its Polish solar plants. The contract will come into effect from 2026 to help NGK lower its carbon footprint.
Astronergy modules in Turkey: Chinese solar PV producer Astronergy supplied its high-efficiency ASTRO N5 585W n-type solar modules for an agrivoltaic project in Turkey. Produced at the company’s Turkish manufacturing base, these modules have been installed at a 7.3 MW agrivoltaic (or agrisolar) project in Gaziantep, owned by the local good producer As Besin.
336 MW solar contract for Southern Europe: Chinese solar PV manufacturer LONGi has signed a framework agreement to supply 336 MW of its solar modules to Spanish independent power producer (IPP) BNZ. The latter plans to deploy these modules for its solar projects in Southern Europe. LONGi will supply its advanced Hi-MO 7 and Hi-MO 9 module series that use the manufacturer’s proprietary Hybrid Passivated Back Contact (HPBC) 2.0 technology.
Meyer Burger gets extension: Heterojunction solar cell and module manufacturer Meyer Burger Technology AG has secured an extension of a bridge facility agreement. The maturity date of the facility, raised from an ad hoc group of bondholders as announced on December 6, 2024, has been extended to March 10, 2025. It can be extended further upon unanimous consent.
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