ReneSola Power is to double down on its European solar ambitions through a new joint venture (JV) with France-headquartered asset management firm Eiffel Investment Group.
The two companies have signed a memorandum of understanding to establish the entity that will provide financing for ReneSola's current and future PV projects across Europe.
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The agreement will see ReneSola hold a 51% stake in the venture, while Eiffel will inject new capital for a 49% interest. The JV intends to develop and then sell up to 1GW of solar projects in the next several years.
“We expect the joint venture to help facilitate the development of our existing pipeline of project opportunities and prospective projects that meet our development criteria,” said Josef Kastner, CEO of ReneSola European region.
Having moved its headquarters from Shanghai to Stamford, Connecticut, in 2019, ReneSola revealed plans last year to focus on markets such as the US, the UK, Spain, Poland, France and Germany. This strategy has seen the company establish a JV in Germany with local developer Vodasun and another in the UK with Novergy, in a move to expand its reach in Europe.
Renesola was also among the successful bidders in a Polish auction last month for small-scale renewable projects, securing 38MW of solar capacity that is expected to be connected to the grid within the next two years.
The deal with Eiffel Investment Group will see the asset management firm make capital contributions to the JV as qualifying projects are constructed, while ReneSola Power will lead the project identification and development process.
Pierre-Antoine Machelon, managing director at Eiffel Investment Group, said the transaction leverages ReneSola’s experience of PV development in Europe and Eiffel’s “capacity to bring financial resources at the most critical stages of the projects' life cycles”.
