European fund manager Niam and solar developer Solkompaniet have agreed to jointly develop and build a 500MW solar portfolio in southern Sweden worth more than €300m.
The framework agreement, which Niam entered in through its infrastructure fund Niam Infra Fund, will see both companies develop various large scale solar parks which could produce electricity corresponding to the electricity use of 120,000 households in central and southern Sweden.
The development of the first two solar parks under the framework agreement is already underway and comprises 80MW each.
Östra Eneby outside Norrköping is the most progressed of the two parks and is located in an area with excellent conditions for solar power, access to electricity grid and where there is strong support from local residents, Niam said.
It is estimated that the solar park could be completed by the end of 2024.
The goal is to start the development of additional solar parks under the framework agreement over the next two years, Niam said.
Through the collaboration with Solkompaniet, Niam intends to finance both development and construction of the solar parks, the company added.
Niam Infrastructure chief executive Sverker Åkerblom said: “Sweden has great conditions for solar parks – plenty of land and good solar irradiation in our long coastal areas.
“Niam wants to contribute to solar becoming an important part of the Swedish energy system.
“Sweden’s electricity demand is predicted to double as a result of the electrification that is now taking place, and solar can relatively quickly meet part of the increased demand in southern Sweden, where there is significant near-term need.”
Solkompaniet chief executive Axel Alm said: “Solkompaniet has built solar parks since the start in 2010, but it is only now that the size of the parks means that they become an important part of our electricity supply.
“The first solar park that we will develop and build for Niam alone corresponds to as much as has been built historically in Sweden until 2021.”