SSE Renewables has expanded its solar photovoltaics pipeline in Northern Europe with the acquisition of a 400MW portfolio of early-stage projects in Poland from developer IBC Solar.
The latest deal follows last year’s acquisition of around 500MW of early-stage solar PV projects, also in Poland, from Optisol. Taken together, the two solar portfolios bring the company’s prospective pipeline of solar PV projects in Poland to 900MW.
This pipeline will be progressed by SSE Renewables under a Developer Services Agreement with IBC Solar and Optisol.
A small upfront payment will be made to the developers with further payments dependent upon reaching key milestones in the development process said SSE, adding no significant capex will be committed by the developer until final investment decisions have been taken.
“We see Poland as one of the fastest growing solar markets in Europe and these two deals enable us to develop our pipeline with European partners,” said SSE Renewables director of solar and battery Richard Cave-Bigley
“We see solar technology as a key part of SSE Renewables’ ongoing investment in net zero infrastructure.
“We look forward to supporting our partners IBC Solar and Optisol with the delivery of these projects and in turn assisting Poland with its ambitious decarbonisation strategy.”
IBC Solar chief security officer Patrik Danz said: “The Polish photovoltaic market has a lot of potential and will grow continuously in the coming years.
“We are looking forward to a successful cooperation with SSE Renewables, which will make another important contribution to the energy transition in Poland.”
Optisol chief executive Mateusz Tabaczka added: “Poland has a rapidly developing energy market with exciting prospects ahead for its decarbonisation journey.
“We look forward to working with SSE as we develop out the 500MW Pomerania pipeline of solar PV projects.”
SSE Renewables said it sees solar PV as a complementary technology to sit alongside wind in its European markets’ portfolio with huge growth potential over the coming decades.