German energy company Uniper has started the construction phase on several solar PV projects in Hungary, Germany and the UK.
In Hungary, the company expects to start construction on two solar projects in the coming months.
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Construction of the 90 MWp Tét project is scheduled to begin in the third quarter of 2025, with operations starting in 2027, while the 61 MWp Dunaföldvár project will begin in Q2 2025 and aims to connect to the grid by 2026.
Hungarian engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) contractor EXTOR Energy has been awarded the construction of both PV plants.
Uniper consists of several business groups at the company, spun out from utility E.On’s generation business in 2016. One of those is the Green Generation unit which aims to expand the company’s green generation capacities. Although hydropower and nuclear energy consist an important part of the company’s operational capacity, it also plan to invest in the development, construction and operation of onshore wind and solar PV.
Investment in the Hungarian PV projects and other renewable assets are part of a nearly €8 billion (US$8.4 billion) commitment from the German company to develop its renewables portfolio by the early 2030s.
European solar PV portfolio
Uniper continues to accelerate its renewables buildout as it aims to recover from its financial struggles and consequent financial bailout in 2022 during the energy crisis, which took it into state ownership by the German government. In its financial results, also published today, the company said it planned to pay back the German government €2.6 billion during the first quarter of 2025.
The two projects in Hungary are not the only solar PV plants that Uniper has recently started construction on as it aims to expand its European portfolio and develop up to 10GW of capacity ready-to-build by 2030. The company currently focuses on Germany, France, the UK, Italy, Sweden, Hungary, and Poland.
In Germany, the company began construction on a 17MW plant located in the northwestern city of Wilhelmshaven on an ash landfill on a former coal-fired power plant.
The project will install more than 28,500 solar modules which will be mounted using specialised anchoring systems designed for the landfill site.
Jörg Lennertz, Uniper Renewables, CEO, said: “By utilising the ash landfill site of the former Wilhelmshaven coal-fired power plant, we are transforming unused industrial land into a valuable source of renewable energy.”
Construction of the project is carried out alongside EPC contractor Greening Germany, with a target of commissioning the plant in the first half of 2026.
Moreover, in the UK the company has started the construction phase on a 65MWp portfolio consisting of two projects.
The two projects will be located in the Midlands, at Tamworth and Totmonslow in Staffordshire. Once operational, each project will have 44.2MWp and 21.33MWp of solar power, respectively.
Uniper expects to start construction later this year and targets the project to be operational in 2026.
Both projects received planning consent from their respective local planning authorities in 2023, while the Tamworth solar project was awarded a Contract for Difference (CfD) in the AR6 CFD auction in August 2024.
