Merger and acquisition activity in the UK’s solar industry is expected to hot up as £11bn worth of project investment over the last two years enters commercial operation.
A study released today at All-Energy 2016 has found that the number of solar deals last year was up 14% on 2014 activity with £1.6bn worth of assets changing hands.
The report by UK law firm TLT and Clean Energy Pipeline found that £333m of M&As have already been reported in quarter one this year with Fengate Capital’s acquisition of 45MW the pick of the bunch.
“The large number of solar projects brought online in the last two years has created a large pool of de-risked assets that are attractive acquisition targets for institutional and other low-risk investors,” said TLT’s head of renewables Maria Connolly.
“This is likely to continue well into 2017. Many transactions in the early part of 2016 relate to disposal of operational projects that were commissioned by 31 March 2015 or the disposal of consented projects that qualify for the grace period.”
The report also concluded that project finance investment in UK solar projects increased year on year from 2013 through to the end of 2015, with a record £4.8bn invested in 2015.
Image: Morgue File
M&As heat up for UK solar
Report released at All-Energy 2016 says £333m of deals done in first quarter
By EBS