Commerz Real is investing for the first time ever in the Danish photovoltaic (PV) market. Together with Hydro Rein, a Norwegian investor in renewable energy sources, the real assets subsidiary of Commerzbank has acquired two solar parks that are to be newly constructed and have a total capacity of 362 MWp.
The seller is the Danish developer GreenGo Energy. It was agreed that confidentiality be maintained on the purchase price. Among other conditions, the transaction is still subject to approval by the Danish Business Authority. Commerz Real plans to place both assets with professional and semi-professional investors. In the framework of the newly founded joint venture with Hydro Rein, in the medium term Commerz Real intends to acquire further project developments with an additional solar power capacity of as much as 1 GWp. This corresponds more or less to the installed capacity of a medium-sized nuclear power station. Hydro Rein is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the aluminium and renewable energy company Norsk Hydro, in which the Norwegian government also holds a stake of approximately one third.
The company has already been active in the field of hydroelectric power for more than 100 years. “The Danish investment market for PV is still relatively young and is seeing a correspondingly dynamic development. This offers the potential for growth and diversification for our institutional investors in particular,” commented Barkha Mehmedagic, Global Head of Institutional Sales and Group Treasury at Commerz Real. “With Hydro Rein and GreenGo Energy, we also have experienced partners firmly rooted in the Scandinavian market by our side.”
According to statements by the Danish government, all the electricity needed by the country is to originate from renewable sources by 2027. Through to 2030 the capacity of these sources is expected to grow approximately 8 GW. The solar projects are located on Denmark’s west coast and in south Denmark. Construction is scheduled to commence in 2024, completion is expected for 2026. Commerz Real was advised by the Danish law firm Plesner on the legal and tax aspects of the transaction.
