DIF Capital Partners, a Dutch fund manager, and German solar PV developer ib vogt, have agreed to acquire a 100% interest in a 720-MW greenfield solar-plus-storage portfolio in the UK. The portfolio includes seven project sites, with 380 MW solar and 340 MW battery storage.
The portfolio was acquired from Enso Green Holdings. The financial details of the agreement were not disclosed. Other terms include DIF acquiring a 90% stake through its DIF Infrastructure VII Fund.
Commenting on the news, DIF Capital Partners Infrastructure head and partner Gijs Voskuyl said: “This transaction perfectly fits in DIF’s build to a core strategy and will significantly contribute to the UK’s efforts to achieve net zero by 2050.
“It represents DIF’s first direct investment into the asset class of utility-scale energy storage, an essential component of future electricity markets.
“DIF is continuing to work closely with Enso Energy and Cero Generation to bring the remaining assets in the portfolio to the ready-to-build stage and is excited to make this investment in a partnership with ib vogt.”
ib vogt will provide solar engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) and operations and maintenance (O&M) services – for the portfolio.
The projects have been developed by Enso Green Holdings and are understood to be in the ready-to-build stage. All projects are expected to be acquired by the year’s end and go live between next year and 2026.
Elgar Middleton, Lazard, and CMS advised DIF on the transaction. PKF and TLT supported EGHL through the transaction.
According to Mercom Annual and Q4 2022 Solar Funding and M&A report, 268 large-scale solar project acquisitions were recorded in 2022 compared to 280 in 2021. In 2022, about 66 GW of solar projects were acquired, with project developers picking up the most, reaching 35.7 GW.
U.S.-based clean energy investment platform CleanCapital recently acquired a portfolio of 34.5 MW operating solar projects in New Jersey.
