Pension Manager Railpen Buys BayWa r.e. Solar Farm in UK

One of the United Kingdom’s key pension managers – Railpen – has announced that that it has acquired a Cambridgeshire solar project from BayWa r.e. that has furthered its renewable energy expansion.

Global renewable energy firm BayWa r.e. previously owned the Bracks solar farm which is a 30 MWp project that will generate clean energy to supply approximately 8,700 homes.

Railpen said that this acquisition marks the second deal between Railpen and BayWa r.e. The first was the purchase of Tralorg Wind Farm in 2019. These acquisitions expand on broader renewable energy investments of Railpen including the Margam and Sleaford renewable energy plants and the recent investment in battery energy storage with Constantine Energy Storage

Railpen said that this demonstrates its commitment to support the UK’s green energy transition.

Alena Antonava, Investment Manager at Railpen, said: “Bracks is a great addition to Railpen’s renewable assets portfolio, alongside our existing onshore wind, biomass, and energy storage investments. Bracks, once constructed, will be delivering secure and stable income to our scheme members whilst supporting commitments of Railpen to achieve Net Zero across its investment portfolio. Our continued investment in renewal energy also support the UK government in achieving its decarbonisation targets.”

John Milligan, Managing Director, UK & Ireland at BayWa r.e., stated on Railpen acquistion, “Securing reliable and economic long-term supply of domestically generated energy is more essential than ever in the face of the climate and energy crises. The implementation of renewable energy projects is key to this, and we are delighted to have brought Bracksto the point of being an attractive investment opportunity for our customers.”

Milligan said that these projects will also make an important contribution to the UK government’s ambitions in meeting its Net Zero emission commitment by 2050. The solar energy capacity of the UK currently hovers around 14GW and the country wants to triple the solar capacity to 50GW by the end of this decade.