Sonnedix acquires Italian and Spanish projects
2 February 2021: Solar operator Sonnedix has acquired a 3MW capacity solar plant in Sicily from ICS S.r.l, and a 15.7MW PV suite in Spain from Danish institutional investors.
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The Sicilian ground-mounted solar plant is under the local Conto Energia feed-in tariff scheme, while the Spanish portfolio, consisting of 15 separate plants including 12 rooftop and three ground-mounted installations across the country, are under the Spanish regulatory regime. The acquisitions come after Sonnedix closed €160 million (US$196.4 million) of non-resource financing of 21 solar PV plants in Italy at the end of 2020. The company started 2021 on a global buying spree, announcing the acquisition of four Solar plants in Chile and a 55.6MW project in Japan this year.
The latest deals in Europe bring Sonnedix’s capacity in Italy and Spain up to 254MW and 354.9MW respectively.
Axel Thiemen, Sonnedix’s chief executive, said the company will continue to look for new ways to expand its presence in the Spanish market.
“Through transactions like this, we continue growing sustainably, expanding the use of solar and helping build a bright future for our communities and the environment.”
Cleantech agrees long-term solar agreement with Dulux owner
2 February 2021: AkzoNobel, which owns paint brand Dulux, has signed a long-term agreement with Asian C&I specialist Cleantech Solar to install three rooftop solar systems at its sites in Thailand and Malaysia.
The Thai sites include 880kW at a manufacturing site in Chon Buri and 240kW at a facility in Samut Sakhon, while the third is a 480kW installation in Nilai, Malaysia. The C&I specialist funded and built the projects and will oversee their operations and maintenance (O&M) throughout the duration of the agreement.
The deal comes after Cleantech Solar secured a US$75 million loan to fund its expansion across Southeast Asia last summer. Wijnand Bruinsma, sustainability program manager at AkzoNobel, said the partnership with the solar developer will help the company meet its own climate targets, “reduce energy use and lower CO2 emissions while increasing our use of renewable energy.”
BayWa r.e. sells Japan solar farm
2 February 2021: Renewables giant BayWa r.e. has sold its second Japanese solar farm in two months.
BayWa r.e. has completed the sale of the 35MWp Isohara solar farm in Kita-Ibaraki City, Japan, to D&D Solar GK, a renewables venture set up by energy company Osaka Gas and the Development Bank of Japan. The Isohara park, built by BayWa r.e., came online last month and is the company’s largest project in Japan to-date.
It comes just two months after D&D Solar GK bought the 11.9MWp Izumi solar plant from BayWa r.e. at the end of 2020.
Jean-Francois Rebeille, chief operating officer at BayWa r.e. Japan K.K, said the company also has a third in the development pipeline in Kobe, set for completion in 2023.
“This successful sale, so soon after our first, will enable us to continue our investment strategy of capital recycling in solar energy generation projects in Japan.”
