Conergy Completes 68MW Before Cut Off Point
Conergy have announced it had completed new large-scale solar power plants in the first three months of 2014 with a combined installed capacity of 68MW in the UK. New additions in the quarter are forecast at 700MW by industry analysts NPD Solarbuzz, giving Conergy an approximate ten percent share of the total UK large-scale market.
The quarter featured historic heavy rain and flooding, with January the wettest since records began, delaying construction projects across the country. Conergy however successfully completed all seven of its planned projects on time.
Alexander Gorski, Conergy's global COO and CEO for Europe, said: "The British government's framework offers stability and high visibility, and has encouraged a scaling up of investment in solar farms. This scale-up has driven a flight to quality from which Conergy is benefiting, with our fifteen years at the heart of the European solar industry. Despite challenging build conditions, we have delivered on our promises to investors and customers, and now stand as one of the leaders in the UK market."
Five of the new solar farms were sold to investors prior to completion. Primrose Solar Holdings acquired two in Dorset and one each in Norfolk and Wales, with a combined 39MW of capacity - a portfolio developed jointly by Conergy and Camborne Energy. Bluefield Solar Income Fund bought a 19MW plant in Wiltshire developed by Wirsol Solar UK, which was itself acquired by Conergy in January. The other two plants were built for direct customers. Conergy is contracted to operate and maintain all of the sites.
Andrew DePass, Partner, Kawa Capital Management, which bought Conergy last year, said: "Solar as an asset class is expanding in many countries but good regulation and a strong and innovative financial sector are helping create a robust UK market for long term investors. Supported by our acquisition of Wirsol Solar UK, Conergy is well placed to respond to this demand with a strong position in large-scale plant development, EPC and O&M."
Conergy built the UK's first large solar farm (5MW) in 2011, and has now built or supplied large-scale plants with installed capacity of over 100 MW, enough to supply 28,750 households, or one in every thousand British homes.
Over the next twenty years, these plants are expected to generate two million megawatt hours of clean electricity, cutting carbon emissions by some 860,000 tonnes. With a pipeline of solar farms with 150MW in further capacity, Conergy's contribution to UK power generation and emissions reduction is expected to further increase.
Alexander Gorski added: "Backed by Kawa Capital Management, Conergy is making great progress globally in scaling up our large ground-mounted projects business, right across the value chain, from development, design and build, through to operations and finance. The rooftops business is likewise becoming increasingly significant in most markets, and is the next target segment for Conergy."
