Greencoat Renewables, the Dublin-listed wind and solar energy group, is to expand its portfolio of wind assets with the acquisition of a 50MW (megawatt) wind farm in Spain. The company said it had reached an agreement to buy the Andella farm in Valladolid, which is currently under construction and expected to be operational in the second quarter of next year.
The wind farm will be Greencoat’s third acquisition in the Spanish market.
The project consists of 10 Siemens Gamesa 5MW turbines, and Siemens Gamesa, the Spanish-German wind engineering company, will provide long-term operational and maintenance services. The transaction is structured under a forward sale model and will only complete once the wind farm is fully operational.
“The Spanish renewables market presents an excellent opportunity for the company, having emerged as one of the leading European unsubsidised markets, with one of the strongest wind resources in Europe and a correspondingly low cost of electricity generation,” Greencoat said, noting it was a further step in the delivery of Greencoat Renewables’s European expansion strategy and follows growth into Germany, France, Finland and Sweden.
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Separately, the company announced it had completed the acquisition of the 50MW Torrubia solar park in Zaragoza, Spain. Torrubia was signed in December 2020 under a forward sale commitment from Lightsource BP, who managed the construction of the solar park.
As a result of the latest purchase, Greencoat Renewables’s total borrowings are now 47 per cent of gross asset value.
Paul O’Donnell, Partner at Schroders Greencoat, the investment manager, said: “The combination of low-cost renewable energy and a well-developed Corporate PPA market makes Spain a very attractive target for renewable energy investment. We’re delighted to secure such a high-quality wind asset and further build out our portfolio in the Spanish market.
“As the renewable generation market continues to develop, we expect to see greater opportunity for unsubsidised renewables and believe Greencoat Renewables is well positioned to benefit from this growing opportunity,” he said.
