Austrian firm Verbund has acquired 70% of five renewable energy projects developed by Capital Energy in Spain, with a total capacity of 171 MW. Four wind farms with a joint capacity of 151 MW, and a photovoltaic plant with an installed capacity of 20 MW. Moreover, three of the wind farms include photovoltaic hybridisation projects amounting to 80 MW.

The five projects are currently in the construction stage, and will be gradually commissioned between Q2 of this year and the beginning of 2023. The parties have agreed not to disclose the purchase price or further details of the transaction. What they have said is that the shares are being sold by Capital Energy Power Vortice, a wholly owned subsidiary of Capital Energy.

First agreement
This is the first agreement between the two companies, by which the Spanish company, founded in 2002, will be responsible for the commissioning of the plants, as well as their management, operation and maintenance during the initial phase. Verbund, for its part, will integrate these assets into its renewables portfolio, with the aim of contributing to the goal of generating between 20% and 25% of electricity from photovoltaic systems and onshore wind farms by 2030.

The buyer, which is 51% owned by the Austrian state, expects to see significant growth in both energy sources in the coming years, and is positioning itself accordingly within the industry. Up to now, the company has specialised in hydroelectric power, being one of the biggest producers in Europe. This is the second operation they have led in Spain since entering the Spanish market with the Íllora project (Granada) last November, with a capacity of 150 MW.

A sustainable project
The five plants involved in this transaction will supply almost 400,000 megawatt-hours of clean energy per year, equivalent to the consumption of 150,000 Spanish households, according to estimates provided by Capital Energy and based both on its own data and data from the National Commission on Markets and Competition in Spain (CNMC) and the National Statistics Institute (INE).

For Juan José Sánchez, CEO of the Spanish company, “this transaction, finalised with a leading European electricity company that is like us focused on making progress in the energy transition, is part of our asset rotation policy, and will allow us to continue developing our ambitious 100% renewable energy project while remaining financially independent”.

Capital Energy has a portfolio of renewable energy projects on the Iberian Peninsula, with around 34 GW of capacity, 8 GW of which have already been granted grid access permits. The company works across the entire supply chain, from development to construction, production, storage, operation and supply.

^{Photo: Capital Energy}