L&G NTR Acquire Three Solar Power Projects Of 115 MWp In Spain

The L&G NTR Clean Power Fund has announced that it has acquired three Spanish pre-operational solar power projects from BayWa r.e. L&G NTR Clean Power Fund is managed by Legal & General Investment Management and NTR which again is a renewable energy specialist.

The three solar power projects, two of which are located in Castilla la Mancha and the third in Andalusia, collectively amount to 115 MWp output installed. They will be operational in 2023.

Once put into operations, the three solar power projects will aim at displacing over 51,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions each year. The projects each have long-term PPAs in place and the off-takers include international food and packaging companies.

L&G NTR said in its statement that the portfolio of three projects is the first acquisition for the fund. It seeks to contribute to the acceleration of the European energy transition through the deployment of institutional capital into solar, wind and energy storage projects at different stages of their development lifecycle across the continent.

L&G said that the Fund is categorised as Article 9 under the European Union’s Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR).

Anthony Doherty, Chief Investment Officer, NTR, said, “Spain is the third largest European solar generator in the EU with ambitious plans to grow installed capacity. We are delighted to enter that market through the continuation of a strong relationship with BayWa r.e., one of Europe’s leading renewables developers.”

Bill Hughes, Global Head of Real Assets, LGIM, stated, “The European energy transition represents a €1 trillion opportunity for investors as public and private sector decarbonisation agendas accelerate.”

Dr. Benedikt Ortmann, Global Director of Solar Projects of BayWa r.e. mentioned, “Such investment in clean energy infrastructure accelerates the development of new renewable installations and thus plays an important role in achieving vital climate goals. Our solar projects in the country have been built without any subsidies for several years now. We are looking forward to continuing to build upon this success story in the future.”

Spain wants to achieve a target of 160 GW of renewable energy by 2030. It has strong solar irradiance owing to its geographical location that can help the expansion of the solar power. In September, Spanish grid operator Red Eléctrica de España (REE) said that the solar power capacity of Spain had reached more than 17 GW bypassing hydropower.