When it comes to installed PV solar technologies at peak hours in Europe, Germany was number 1 in 2021 with a total capacity of 58,461MW. Italy followed with a capacity of 22,698MW. The third place went to Spain with 15,952MW, followed closely by France with 14,718MW and the Netherlands with 14,249MW of PV solar capacity. The close sixth place was the United Kingdom with 13,689MW, whereas the seventh place had less than half the number of installed MW. It comes as no surprise that each of the five large photovoltaic portfolio owners in this list are represented by companies from the six mentioned countries.
1) Aquila Capital
Hamburg-based Aquila Capital is considered a leading investment manager in clean energy since it manages a total of over €12.5 billion for its investors. Founded in 2001, the company specializes in sustainable investments which includes renewable energy, infrastructure, green logistics, agriculture and real estate. Aquila Capital’s portfolio comprises 223 PV parks and a total of 7,785 MWp installed and development capacity.
2) Octopus Investments
As a part of Octopus Group, Octopus Investments is a UK investment management company which manages a number of investment funds. Founded in 2000, it is currently one of the fastest-growing companies in the UK, managing over £12.5 billion on behalf of its investors. As the largest investor of solar power in Europe, its total portfolio has a capacity of 3GW which is enough to cover the electricity consumption of 2.0m UK homes.
3) Iberdrola S.A.
Headquartered in Bilbao in Spain, Iberdrola is a global utility company for electricity and gas. By investing into renewable energy such as solar and offshore wind as well as storage, Iberdrola has become a global leader in renewable energy. The company‘s investments have already reached a total capacity of 44GW in 2022 with the plan to have 60GW installed by the year 2025. As for its photovoltaic portfolio, the company has committed to have 4,900 MW installed in Spain and a total of 9,900 MW installed worldwide by the year 2025.
4) Foresight group
The UK company is a sustainability-led asset and investment manager and currently manages £12.2 billion for some of the world’s largest investors. With several funds, Foresight Group invests into all forms of renewable energy in Europe and Australia and owns several utility-scale solar assets. With its Foresight Solar Fund Limited, the Company owns an operational portfolio of 50 assets in the UK with a total installed capacity of 723MW.
5) NextEnergy Capital
Founded in 2007, NextEnergy Capital soon became one of the leading investment and asset managers in the solar sector. The UK company manages several investment platforms. Its NextEnergy Solar Fund owns 100 PV assets with a total installed capacity of 865MW which makes it one of the largest solar funds that is listed on the London Stock Exchange.
Besides this list, our team has written country-specific lists on large portfolio owners:
- List of 3 large PV portfolio owners in Austria
- List of 3 large PV portfolio owners in Portugal
- List of 3 large PV portfolio owners in Switzerland
- List of 3 large PV portfolio owners in Germany
- List of 3 large PV portfolio owners in Italy
- List of 3 large PV portfolio owners in Spain
- List of 3 large PV portfolio owners in France
- List of 3 large PV portfolio owners in the UK
You might also like our article on 5 large wind portfolio owners in Europe.
Image Source: Andreas Gücklhorn via Unsplash (01.09.2022)