Arise has acquired a 70% stake in Fenix, which develops solar, onshore wind and storage projects in Norway and Ukraine.
The purchase price amounts to approximately NOK330,000 (€28,800) and Arise and will finance Fenix’s project development activities as part of the agreement.
Fenix, with its team of nine employees, including local management in both Ukraine and Norway, has significant experience in developing and constructing infrastructure projects, including Ukrainian wind farm developments before the war.
Through Fenix’s existing network in the country, it has exclusivity over an initial portfolio of approximately 300MW of early stage solar, onshore wind and storage projects that could reach ready-to-build status within the coming 12 months to 24 months.
Additionally, the strategic partnership with Arise will allow Fenix to accelerate greenfield development in Ukraine, with the goal of securing a sizeable pipeline of projects in the coming years and aligns well with Arise’s goal to strategically diversify its business in terms of geographies and technologies.
Arise’s chief executive Per-Erik Eriksson said: “We are delighted to be partnering with the Fenix Repower team.
“We firmly believe that renewable energy will play a key role in Ukraine’s recovery and that the injection of public capital has the potential to transform Ukraine into a significant destination for foreign investment.
“With excellent conditions for both wind and solar power, we view Ukraine as the last big, untapped market in Europe.
“Further, this move is a capital efficient way for Arise to establish a strong position in the Ukrainian market and to build a sizeable pipeline for the years to come.”
Ukraine’s existing energy mix is dominated by approximately 35GW of largely Soviet-era nuclear and thermal plants which accounted for 84% of electricity generation in 2021, Arise said.
As of December 2023, a significant portion of this capacity is under Russian control, it added.
Eriksson said: “First of all, the ongoing war is above all a humanitarian tragedy. In addition, it obviously makes for a risky and challenging environment.
“However, we believe that there will be parts of Ukraine with manageable levels of risk and that the recovery can already begin in some areas, even if the war has not come to a definite end.
“We have some inhouse experience among our owners from their long-time operations in Ukraine, which will be helpful when entering this new market.”
In addition to Fenix’s activities in Ukraine, its team in Norway will ramp up and manage Arise’s greenfield development in Norway, which currently comprises a number of leads and early-stage projects.
Arise was advised by CMS Kluge in Norway, CMS CMNO in Kyiv and KPMG. Fenix was advised by GreenCap Partners, Thomessen and Asters.