Spanish energy company and pulp producer Ence is selling a portfolio of five solar PV assets in southern Spain to utility Naturgy.
With a combined capacity of 373MW, the projects have network connection permits in place and are set to be built in the Andalucía region, with Ence participating in their construction.
Proceeds from the €62 million (US$70 million) deal, which was carried out through Ence’s renewables subsidiary, Ence Energía, will be reinvested to develop new solar, energy storage and biomass projects.
The transaction follows Ence selling a 49% stake in Ence Energía to UK-based infrastructure investment fund Ancala Partners last year.
For Naturgy, the acquisition comes as the utility looks to increase its renewable generation portfolio from around 5GW to more than 14GW in 2025 as part of a strategic plan unveiled earlier this year that will see the firm invest €14 billion, of which around two-thirds will be earmarked for boosting renewable capacity.
According to that roadmap, the firm will have approximately 6.3GW of solar PV by 2025, with significant capacity additions planned in Europe and the US.
Early this year, Naturgy entered the US’ renewables sector through the acquisition of solar and storage developer Hamel Renewables, with the utility pledging to invest US$1.8 billion to reach an operational capacity of 1.6GW of solar in the US by 2025.
Naturgy has since secured a total of 417MW of solar PV capacity in Spain’s two renewables auctions this year, which took place in January and October.
