Insurance giant L&G taps Spanish PV for RES debut in continental Europe

Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Reddit
Email
Image credit: Legal & General

One of the world’s largest financiers has set its sights on Spanish solar as it moved to sign its first funding deal for renewables in continental Europe.

Legal & General – a UK insurance giant managing assets of £1.135 trillion (US$1.46 trillion) – said this week it will use its infrastructure investment unit to help refinance various solar plants owned by Qualitas Energy (Q-Energy), a Madrid-based asset manager.

This article requires Premium SubscriptionBasic (FREE) Subscription

Try Premium for just $1

  • Full premium access for the first month at only $1
  • Converts to an annual rate after 30 days unless cancelled
  • Cancel anytime during the trial period

Premium Benefits

  • Expert industry analysis and interviews
  • Digital access to PV Tech Power journal
  • Exclusive event discounts

Or get the full Premium subscription right away

Or continue reading this article for free

In a statement, Legal & General explained its LGIM Real Assets arm will inject funding of €120 million (US$130 million) into Q-Energy’s solar portfolio. LGIM’s commitment is part of a broader €342 million (US$371 million) refinancing deal, alongside another investor that has yet to be identified.

L&G’s statement said the refinanced portfolio features 21 solar plants already up and running in Spain. The financier did however not disclose individual project locations or sizes, other than noting that the entire portfolio supplies enough PV power to cover the needs of 70,400 homes.

Approached by PV Tech this week, a L&G spokesperson said the firm had been drawn by both Q-Energy’s “track record” but also Spain’s legislative framework, adding: “The [country’s] supportive regulatory provides for cash flow stability that is well aligned with our investment clients’ needs.”

Prior to this solar deal, LGIM Real Assets has backed other solar projects but otherwise mostly “tilted” towards offshore wind plays in the UK, the spokesperson explained. The plan now is to continue ramping up exposure to renewables, they said, without commenting on specific markets.

The refinancing boost finds project owner Q-Energy having crossed the 1GW mark with its European renewable portfolio, including a 493.74MWp farm in Mula (region of Murcia) that is described as Europe’s second largest PV asset.

The group invests in solar through various entities, including FSL Solar, Vela Energy and Izcalli Investments. In June 2019, the last of the three raised €207 million (US$224 million) in private bond capital from German and Korean insurers to refinance nine PV plants in Spain.

Contacted by PV Tech at the time, sources close to the transaction declined to provide capacity figures but explained the installations were relatively old – the first hit financial close more than a decade ago – and were acquired by Izcalli from developer third parties.

The prospects and challenges of solar's new era in Spain and the rest of Europe will take centre stage at Large Scale Solar Europe 2020 (Lisbon, on 31 March-1 April 2020).

2 December 2025
Málaga, Spain
Understanding PV module supply to the European market in 2026. PV ModuleTech Europe 2025 is a two-day conference that tackles these challenges directly, with an agenda that addresses all aspects of module supplier selection; product availability, technology offerings, traceability of supply-chain, factory auditing, module testing and reliability, and company bankability.
10 March 2026
Frankfurt, Germany
The conference will gather the key stakeholders from PV manufacturing, equipment/materials, policy-making and strategy, capital equipment investment and all interested downstream channels and third-party entities. The goal is simple: to map out PV manufacturing out to 2030 and beyond.

Read Next

September 11, 2025
The PEARL Consortium has developed perovskite solar cells with carbon electrodes with a conversion efficiency of 21.6%.
September 11, 2025
The EBRD has launched a new programme to improve access to green financing and support energy investments such as renewable power projects.
September 10, 2025
A project claimed to be Germany’s largest agriPV plant has been commissioned in the north-east of the country.
September 9, 2025
Iberdrola has signed a 77MW power purchase agreement (PPA) with Italian grocery retail group Selex Gruppo Commerciale.
September 9, 2025
The average price of solar modules sold in Europe fell marginally between July and August, while buyers’ confidence remained steady.
September 8, 2025
France has awarded 971MW of ground-mount solar capacity, to 165 projects, in the eighth round of the PPE2 PV tender.

Subscribe to Newsletter

Upcoming Events

Solar Media Events
September 16, 2025
Athens, Greece
Solar Media Events
September 30, 2025
Seattle, USA
Solar Media Events
October 1, 2025
London, UK
Solar Media Events
October 2, 2025
London,UK
Solar Media Events
October 7, 2025
Manila, Philippines