utility scale

Fresh from his firm’s purchase of a 100MW utility-scale solar portfolio from BayWa r.e., Allianz chief investment officer Armin Sandhoevel reveals why his firm loves the UK market and which other markets Allianz has an eye on.

Industry officials have criticised a lack of encouragement for green energy projects after battery storage won just over 10MW of combined capacity in the latest capacity market auction, well down on the success enjoyed by the technology in December’s T-4 bidding process.

In a set of two blogs to be featured this week on Solar Power Portal, Finlay Colville provides the first ever full breakdown of who owns the UK’s entire cumulative solar PV capacity, deployed as of the end of 2016, adding up to about 12GW of capacity.

UK solar remains a destination of choice for investment despite concerns over Brexit due to the market’s ability to diversify investment portfolios, Allianz GI chief investment officer Armin Sandhoevel has said.

Liam Stoker recaps five of the key themes that were discussed during this week’s Solar Finance & Investment Europe conference, including how much UK solar capacity is up for grabs, Brexit, storage and where the smart money is going next.

Construction is underway on a new solar project from Swindon Borough Council, which will couple income from 1.2 ROCs with savings from a private wire with the Swindon household waste recycling centre to produce substantial new cash flows for the council.

NextEnergy Solar Fund (NESF), one of the top six owners of UK solar farms, has refinanced a swathe of its assets as it edges closer to yet more acquisitions.

The number of large-scale solar asset holders will rapidly reduce over the next few years as consolidation takes hold of the UK market, according to a panel convened on the first day of the Solar Finance & Investment Europe conference in London.

PS Renewables has responded to the growth of its development business in the north east of America by opening a new office in Portsmouth, New Hampshire.

BayWa r.e. is aiming to leverage its international presence and scale to improve the standard of O&M services for UK customers following its acquisition of Green Hedge Operational Services.