Independent power producer (IPP) Cube Green Energy, a subsidiary of US investment manager I Squared Capital, has acquired German agrivoltaics (agriPV) developer SUNfarming.
As part of the deal, I Squared will invest over €500 million (US$537.1 million) into building out SUNfarming’s agriPV pipeline until 2028, which includes a total capacity of close to 2GW. SUNfarming already has 650MW of PV projects in operation across Europe, and is working with the SPIE group to develop Europe’s largest agriPV project, the Klimapark Steinhöfel agriPV facility in Germany, which will have a total power generation capacity of 753MW.
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I Squared noted that it has invested US$7 billion in the energy transition in the last decade, but did not specify the value of the acquisition of SUNfarming. The three companies involved expect the transaction to close by the first quarter of 2025, and SUNfarming “founders and key management” will retain minority shareholding positions in the company and continue in their existing roles.
“This transaction marks an exciting next stage for our company and brings us an important step closer to the crucial goal of driving the energy transition and creating a greener future,” said SUNfarming founder Peter Schrum. “I Squared’s investment via Cube Green Energy gives further tailwind to SUNfarming’s dynamic development and underlines our strong position in the agriPV market.”
Cube Green Energy has focused its investments on the German PV sector, with more than 500MW of capacity under development, more than in any other country. The company currently has 80MW of capacity in operation in Germany, alongside 56MW of operating capacity in France and 5MW in Italy.
While Europe’s agriPV industry has often been touted as a sector with considerable potential, greater policy support could be essential if this potential is to be realised. This week, trade body SolarPower Europe called for the integration of agriPV into existing environmental policy standards to accelerate the adoption of the practice within the continent.
The European agriPV sector could also follow in the footsteps of other industries, such as residential solar. This is the opinion of Roman Karbowy, who spoke to PV Tech Premium this week about the role of small-scale solar and agriPV in Poland in particular, and how the deployment of the former has benefited from supportive policy, which could set a precedent for agriPV in the country.
