Statkraft acquired 100 per cent of the shares in Solarcentury Holdings and its subsidiaries, signalling the company’s renewed commitment to solar power. Together the companies are well positioned for accelerated growth in solar and to become one of the world’s leading renewable energy companies. Statkraft will gain access to a 6 GW pipeline (gross) in Europe and South America that combined with Statkraft’s current project portfolio immediately positions the company as a leading developer in the European solar market.
Solarcentury’s project pipeline spans many high-growth markets including Spain, the Netherlands, the UK, France, Greece, Italy and Chile.
As a global leader in energy market operations, Statkraft has held a target to develop at least 8 GW of wind and solar by 2025. Solar capacity has grown 27 times over the last decade and solar energy is expected to become the world’s largest source of electricity from 2035, according to Statkraft’s Low Emissions Scenario. In 2050, solar power is expected to account for 38 per cent of global power generation.
Solarcentury’s geographical footprint is well aligned with Statkraft’s existing development portfolio and market operations. As a global leader in energy market operations, Statkraft is uniquely positioned to add value to the acquired project pipeline through its market integration capabilities.
“This acquisition is in line with our strategy to ramp up as a wind and solar developer and become one of the leading renewable energy companies globally” said Christian Rynning-Tønnesen, CEO of Statkraft. “Just like hydropower and solar power complement each other, Statkraft and Solarcentury are an excellent fit in terms of purpose and people. Joining forces will accelerate our growth and continue to drive the energy transition forward.”
Frans van den Heuvel, CEO of Solarcentury, added that Solarcentury has grown entirely organically since 2007 into a highly profitable business and that to continue to grow at the pace that is possible given the market the company is operating in, Solarcentury will benefit from a larger balance sheet and this has resulted in the company seeking new ownership. Statkraft is the perfect match given their ambition to invest in and grow their solar portfolio.
Solarcentury is a global solar developer headquartered in London, UK with around 180 people across 12 countries. Since the company changed their strategic approach in 2013 it has developed 40 utility-scale projects totalling 1,200 MWp across 7 countries.
The transaction is conditional upon customary regulatory and local competition approvals and is expected to be completed by the end of 2020.
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