JBM Solar has launched a consultation for a 320MW solar project in Yorkshire, in the UK. JBM Solar (RWE Group) is proposing to locate Peartree Hill Solar Farm to the east of Beverley in East Riding, Yorkshire. The initial consultation period runs from 9 October until 6 November 2023. Peartree Hill is made up of several areas of land, connected by a series of underground cables. The most northern part of the site is located northwest of Leven, with the remainder of the solar farm located on land between the villages of Tickton, Riston, Wawne, Weel, and Woodmansey.                Although plans are at an early stage, the developer has outlined its commitment to the retention and enhancement of natural habitats and species, while delivering “biodiversity net gain” through new planting and habitat creation. The project also proposes to increase opportunity for access, with enhanced public footpaths, wildflower meadows, picnic areas, information boards and educational trails. JBM Solar will establish a £4.2m community benefit fund to support local causes and initiatives and is seeking feedback on how this fund can best serve the local community. Development Project Manager, Mike Greslow, said: “Our plans for Peartree Solar Farm are at an early stage and we strongly encourage the community to actively participate in the consultation process. “Local insight and feedback will go a long way in helping to shape the proposals.” “This project is an opportunity to help tackle the climate crisis and deliver on local and national energy targets. “The UK needs to rapidly expand its renewable energy network to deliver on its aim to decarbonise the energy sector by 2035, and renewable energy projects like Peartree Hill will help to achieve that.”           Credits: renews.biz [Image: RWE]

                 Highfield Solar and Meta have signed two 15-year CPPAs with a combined capacity of 276MWp to offtake from PV projects in Ireland. The energy from the operational solar farms in Meath and Wexford will be used to support Meta’s operations in Ireland. The projects were developed, financed, and constructed by Highfield and represent an investment of over €180m in clean energy infrastructure. Highfield Energy managing director Peter Kavanagh said: “This transaction represents a significant step towards national targets in renewable energy and corporate power purchase agreements. “We’re delighted to work with Meta on these projects and want to thank all project stakeholders for their assistance.”           Credits: renews.biz [Image: Asia Chang/Unplash]

                 European Energy has signed an agreement for Sosteneo SGR to acquire a 68MW solar farm in Italy. The project, which extends over an area of 135 hectares, is located in Ramacca, Sicily. The agreement provides for the acquisition of 100% of the shares of the special purpose vehicle Ramacca Energia srl by Sosteno.                Director and country manager of Italy at European Energy Alessandro Migliorini said: “We are very proud to have concluded this agreement with a specialized fund like Sosteneo, a company which also includes Generali Investment in its shareholder structure, because it constitutes not only a further recognition of the quality of our plants but also testifies to the ability of the European Energy team to dialogue with leading players in the Italian economic and financial panorama who are attentive to developments and the achievement of the goals of the green deal.” European Energy was assisted in the operation by the legal advisor Green Horse and the technical advisor EOS.           Credits: renews.biz [Image: European Energy]

                 TenneT has signed a framework agreement worth almost €2bn for substations in Germany and the Netherlands to drive the energy transition. The Dutch transmission system operator struck deals with Siemens Energy, Hitachi Energy, GE Grid and Royal SMIT, to supply 110 shunt reactors and 160 power transformers, with each supplier awarded approximately a quarter of the total volume. Of this amount, €1.16bn is allocated for German substations and €730m for substations in the Netherlands.                 In total, 98 power transformers were tendered for Germany, and 61 for the Netherlands. 68 shunt reactors were allocated for the Netherlands, and 38 for Germany. These assets will be deployed not only in maintenance projects but also in new construction projects. The framework agreement possesses a minimum term of two years and offers the option to extend the contract up to five times, each for one year. The successful closing of the framework agreement marks a crucial step in optimizing and maintaining TenneT’s transmission grid. Tim Meyerjürgens, COO of TenneT, explains: “The energy transition requires a complete system overhaul, not only with new power lines but also with state-of-the-art substations. To enable the integration of renewable energies into the transmission grid via the distribution grid, we need a significant number of new high-performance transformers. “At the same time, our substations will assume system services for frequency and voltage stability, which were previously provided by conventional power plants. For this, we require additional equipment such as shunt reactors.”             Credits: renews.biz [Image: TenneT]

                Pexapark has secured €20m in Series C funding to underpin its growth in the global renewable energy markets. The new funding round, led by global technology investor Telstra Ventures, with participation from Swisscom Ventures and the A&G Energy Transition Tech Fund, will give significant impetus to Pexapark as it helps its customers navigate new opportunities and risks at a pivotal moment in the energy transition. Pexapark chief executive Michael Waldner said: “This fresh injection of capital takes us into the next exciting phase of our mission to equip renewable energy players around the globe with the expertise, processes, and systems to thrive amid evolving market dynamics.”                The investment will finance further innovation in Pexapark’s offering, which encompasses trusted reference prices for PPAs in Europe, PPA transaction advisory services, and Pexapark’s unique energy risk and portfolio management software, PexaOS. Together, these services have been adopted by over 200 renewable energy, storage and green hydrogen players across Europe – including leading companies such as Octopus Energy Generation, Statkraft, BP, EDF Renewables and Covestro. Pexapark brings price transparency to 19 markets and has supported more than 30GW of PPA deals to date. PexaOS is now being used by IPPs and funds to manage 13GW of renewable energy assets across Europe. Partner at Telstra Ventures Albert Bielinko said: “We invested in Pexapark because we believe they are the global leader in energy risk management software for investors in renewable energy, as well as the leading source of market intelligence for renewable PPAs. “Signing PPAs is crucial to ensure new renewables projects can be financed and Pexapark provides a critical service that makes this process more efficient. “As the world transitions to renewables, and government subsidies are gradually removed, we believe Pexapark’s services will be indispensable. “Pexapark also has an iconic team who structured the first PPAs in Europe many years ago.” Swisscom Ventures investment director Jennifer Webb added: “We have backed Pexapark because it is uniquely positioned globally to support renewable energy market participants in addressing price volatility and regulatory changes, as this market grows and matures.”             Credits: renews.biz [Image: Octopus Energy]

                 Q Energy has begun construction work on a 35MW/44 megawatt-hour battery in France. The Merbette energy storage system will be built on the Emile Huchet power plant site in the town of Saint-Avold. It is part of an ongoing green transformation of the historically fossil-fuelled site by owner GazelEnergie.                The battery will not only help to facilitate the integration of renewable energy into the electricity system but also add to decarbonising the energy mix. In the medium term, it will also be a valuable element to stabilise the grid and reduce the volatility of electricity prices. Q Energy chief executive Sang Chull Chung said: “Merbette is the first of many upcoming energy storage projects that Q Energy is preparing. “We are currently driving a development pipeline of more than 1GW of ESS projects across Europe and 400MW of these will be located in France alone.”           Credits: renews.biz [Image: Q Energy]

                 Fortum is to invest over €60m during 2023-2030 to modernise Sweden’s 42MW Untra hydropower plant, originally constructed in 1911. The company said the expenditure is part of its strategic priorities to deliver reliable clean energy and drive decarbonisation in industries in the Nordics.  “The construction of the Untra power plant had a significant impact on the first wave of electrification and today electricity is once more driving our transformation to net zero,” said executive vice president hydro generation at Fortum Mikael Lemström.                 “Hydropower, known for its adaptability and extensive energy storage capabilities, continues to play an important role in our power infrastructure. “As a result, investments of this nature are essential to ensure that hydropower maintains its position as a fundamental pillar of the Nordic’s carbon-neutral electricity production.” The company said the renovation will involve the replacement of three turbines and a significant restructuring of the facility to ensure it can provide flexibility to the power system and supply fossil-free electricity to Sweden. The machinery upgrade means the annual electricity production will increase from 270GWh up to approximately 300GWh. Untra was initially constructed in late 1911 to provide Stockholm with electricity and despite the capital’s growing demand for power, which exceeded the plant’s capacity in less than eight years, it has remained an important part of the Swedish grid.  Of the total investment, about half is classified as growth capital expenditure. The investment is already included in Fortum’s committed growth capital expenditure of €800m for 2023-2025.             Credits: renews.biz [Image: Fortum]

                Enel has closed the sale of 50% of the two entities owning the group’s renewables activities in Australia, namely Enel Green Power Australia Pty and Enel Green Power Australia Trust (together known as EGPA) to INPEX for approximately €142m.  EGPA currently operates three solar plants totalling 310MW of installed gross capacity and one 76MW wind project. It also has a 93MW solar project currently under construction. The company is also developing a significant portfolio of wind, solar, storage and hybrid projects across Australia, alongside expanding its activities in innovative solutions within its retail and trading operations.                The company said the deal is in line with Enel’s current strategic plan, which envisages the implementation of partnerships in certain businesses and geographies to enhance value creation. Upon the transaction’s closing, EGP and INPEX are expected to jointly control EGPA, overseeing the company’s current renewables generation portfolio and continuing to develop its project pipeline, targeting an increase of its installed capacity. This ensures EGPA will continue to drive the energy transition underway in Australia, accelerating its contribution to achieve the country’s net zero target said Enel. The company said the transaction generated a positive impact on Enel Group EBITDA of approximately €95m, alongside an expected positive effect on consolidated net debt of around €142m. This amount does not include approximately €203m as net debt deconsolidated in 2022, since EGPA was already reported as “held for sale”.             Credits: renews.biz [Image: Enel]

                 Vattenfall has started construction on its Tutzpatz 79MW agrivoltaic project in north-east Germany. On a total area of 93 hectares, solar modules will be erected on different rack systems and combined with suitable forms of agricultural use.                Vattenfall’s partner in the project is Power and Air Condition Solution Management (PASM), a subsidiary of Deutsche Telekom, which will buy the power production of the plant for 10 years via a corporate power purchase agreement. The plant will annually cover the demand of about 2500 Deutsche Telecom mobile phone stations. Tutzpatz agrivoltaic farm is built without state subsidies and is to be competed in 2024. Head of Vattenfall’s Solar Division Claus Wattendrup said: “With the construction of an agrivoltaic project on this scale, we are doing real pioneering work. We want to show that sustainable agriculture and energy production can complement each other perfectly. With the Tutzpatz project, we are now developing this young technology on a commercial scale.”           Credits: renews.biz [Image: Falck Renewables]

                 Enfinity Global has acquired 546MW of solar assets under development from CS Energy in the US state of Colorado. This deal allows the company to make further progress in the implementation of its long-term business strategy in the US. The acquisition portfolio consists of three solar projects in Colorado, an attractive solar market mandating 100% renewable energy generation by 2050. The portfolio is expected to generate recurrent EBITDA of approximately $59m per year with investment grade counterparties.                The sites are expected to start construction in the next two years. Enfinity Global is renewable energy independent power producer, with an existing global business of over 17GW that includes 7.3GW of energy storage assets and 1GW of operational sites. In the US, Enfinity Global operates a portfolio of 400MW and 28 solar power plants in the states of California, Idaho and North Carolina and owns 6GW of solar and storage projects under development in different states across the country. Chief executive Americas of Enfinity Global Ricardo Díaz said: “Our long-term ownership business model allows us to partner with relevant investors, stakeholders, and customers, aligning capabilities that create a zero-carbon future and benefit the communities in which we participate. “We will continue committed to develop additional projects in Colorado.”             Credits: renews.biz [Image: Enfinity Global]