Spain-headquartered renewable power developer Zelestra has acquired a majority stake in German independent power producer (IPP) East Energy GmbH.
Zelestra acquired a 25% stake from German bioethanol manufacturer CropEnergies, and additional shares from East Energy itself, and will support what the Spanish company called its “organic growth initiatives in the German market”. East Energy has a pipeline of more than 2GW of capacity, across technologies including solar PV, battery storage and green hydrogen production, headlined by the 238MW Finsterwalde PV plant in Brandenburg, Eastern Germany, at which the company plans to begin construction next year.
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“We are excited to join forces with Zelestra, a company that shares our vision of a sustainable, multi-technology energy future,” said East Energy founders and managing directors Dirk Petschick and Dirk Klänhammer. “This partnership will allow us to take our innovations to a new level, benefiting both our customers and the wider energy environment.”
Zelestra described Germany as “Europe’s largest renewables market” in its announcement of the transaction, and the country has seen significant growth in its solar sector, in particular, in recent years. In the first half of 2024, Germany added 7.5GW of new solar capacity, pushing its total operating capacity to over 90GW, more than double that was in operation at the end of 2018.
This sustained growth has been driven by both supportive legislation, such as the Solarpacket I reforms, which have encouraged record levels of subscription for public tenders, and economic factors, with ground-mounted solar now having the lowest levelised cost of electricity (LCOE) in the country.
It is no surprise, therefore, that Zelestra is keen to expand its presence in the country, following projects to expand its footprint in markets such as Spain and Ecuador.
“By combining our resources with East Energy’s innovative approach, we are well-positioned to accelerate the energy transition in Germany,” said Zelestra’s Germany CEO Robert Hienz. “We are committed to delivering advanced, sustainable energy solutions that align with our clients’ ambitions and the country’s renewable energy goals.”
The news follows Zelestra’s announcement of plans to invest up to €5 billion (US$5.49 billion) between 2024 and 2026 to expand its power generation portfolio across a number of technologies, including solar PV and green hydrogen.
