62 deals. Nearly 9 GW. Over €2.6 billion in disclosed value.
This report is based on 62 European renewable energy transactions recorded in the renewables.digital transaction database. between January and March 2026. It covers deals across 14 countries, spanning solar PV, onshore and offshore wind, and battery energy storage. Our databases cover renewable energy investors, developers, and deal activity across the Americas, Europe, and globally, available as downloadable Excel files with company details, executive contacts, investment focus, and transaction history.
The European Renewable Energy Market: Q1 2026 in Numbers
The European renewable energy transaction market maintained strong momentum through the first quarter of 2026. Our database recorded 62 deals involving assets totalling approximately 9000 MW of capacity across 14 countries. Deals with disclosed pricing summed to over €2.6 billion. Activity accelerated over the quarter: January accounted for 23 transactions, February for nine, and March for 30.
Germany led with 14 deals, followed by the United Kingdom (11), Finland (8), Italy (7), France (6), and Poland (5). The remaining transactions were distributed across Lithuania, Denmark, Greece, Sweden, Portugal, Hungary, and Ireland. In terms of transacted capacity, Germany accounted for approximately 1,760 MW, followed by Finland (1,400 MW), the United Kingdom (1,400 MW), Poland (750 MW), and France (740 MW).
By technology, onshore wind appeared in 26 transactions, solar PV in 25, battery storage in 21, and offshore wind in three. These numbers overlap where deals involved hybrid projects combining multiple technologies.
The European Market Context
The European energy system crossed a symbolic threshold in 2025. Wind and solar combined generated 30% of EU electricity, surpassing fossil fuels at 29% for the first time. 14 of the 27 EU countries generated more electricity from wind and solar than from fossil fuels. Clean energy investment across the EU reached nearly $390 billion. On the storage side, the EU installed 27.1 GWh of new battery capacity in 2025, a 45% increase over 2024, bringing total installed capacity to 77.3 GWh. Utility-scale systems accounted for the majority of new additions for the first time, overtaking residential batteries.
The regulatory backdrop has strengthened. Italy’s FERX contract-for-difference scheme awarded capacity across multiple auctions. The UK’s Allocation Round 7 continued to underpin solar and onshore wind development. Germany’s grid-fee exemptions for storage and planned capacity mechanism (expected around 2028) are drawing institutional attention. Poland is advancing its Baltic Sea offshore wind programme. France remains a stable market for contracted wind assets.
The transactions recorded in Q1 reflect these conditions. Capital is flowing into operational and near-operational assets with contracted revenue, into battery storage at a scale that would have been unthinkable two years ago, and increasingly into hybrid projects that combine generation with flexibility.
The Largest Deals of the Quarter
Ørsted European Onshore Platform to Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (Price, €1.44 billion)
The largest deal of the quarter was Ørsted’s divestment of its entire European onshore renewables business to Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners for €1.44 billion. The portfolio spans approximately 578 MW of operational onshore wind, solar PV, and battery storage assets across Ireland, the United Kingdom, Germany, and Spain, plus a development pipeline exceeding 5.4 GW. Ørsted framed the exit as a strategic reorientation toward offshore wind and regulated networks. For CIP, the acquisition creates a multi-country, multi-technology onshore platform with significant development upside.
Allianz Global Investor`s BESS Portfolio in Germany x TotalEnergies (Capacity 789MW. Price €500 million)
Allianz Global Investors acquired a 50% stake in 11 large-scale battery storage projects developed by Kyon Energy, a TotalEnergies subsidiary. Total capacity: 789 MW and 1,628 MWh. Investment volume: €500 million, with 70% debt-financed. All projects are expected to be commissioned by 2028. TotalEnergies retains 50% and continues as operator. This is Allianz’s first direct equity investment into a large-scale BESS portfolio and, by disclosed value, the largest institutional battery storage transaction completed in Europe.
EDP Greece Onshore Wind Portfolio (Capacity 150MW, Price €200 million)
EDP Renováveis sold a 150 MW operational onshore wind portfolio in Greece to a consortium of Enel and Macquarie Asset Management for €200 million. The four wind farms carry 20-year Contracts for Difference. The deal is part of EDP’s asset rotation strategy and gives Enel its first wind foothold in Greece.
Iberdrola Hungary Exit (Capacity 158MW, Price €171 million)
Iberdrola sold its entire 158 MW Hungarian onshore wind portfolio to a consortium of Premier Energy and iG TECH Capital for €171 million. The portfolio has been operational since 2008 and includes 124 MW already selling electricity under market-based contracts, with the remainder covered by a feed-in tariff until mid-2026. The transaction marks Iberdrola’s full exit from Hungary.
ERG UK Onshore Wind Portfolio (Capacity 73MW, Price €130 million)
ERG acquired a 73 MW portfolio of seven operational onshore wind farms in the UK from OnPath Energy for approximately £113 million. All assets are supported by Renewable Obligation Certificates and generated an EBITDA of approximately £18 million in 2024.
Technology Analysis
Onshore Wind: The Quarter’s Volume Leader
Onshore wind accounted for the most transactions (26) and the largest share of transacted capacity. The standout deal was Nordic Generation’s acquisition of three Finnish wind projects totalling approximately 800 MW from Metsähallitus, though these are still in development. Blue Elephant Energy’s purchase of a 381 MW wind portfolio in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, comprising 37 operational parks plus projects under construction and in development, significantly expanded its German footprint. Qualitas Energy acquired a 91 MW wind portfolio from PNE, also in Germany, combining operational, under-construction, and development-stage projects.
Across the quarter, the onshore wind market showed a clear pattern: buyers are acquiring portfolios that blend operational cash flow with a development pipeline. Pure operational deals still command premium pricing (as evidenced by the ERG UK acquisition and the Iberdrola Hungary exit), but the most strategically significant transactions combined near-term revenue with long-term growth.
France remained active, with Axium Infrastructure Europe making its first European acquisition (174 MW operational portfolio), Iberdrola France selling its 118 MW operational portfolio plus 639 MW pipeline to Technique Solaire, and Velto Renewables acquiring a fifth project in partnership with Q ENERGY. In Scandinavia, RWE sold its entire Swedish wind portfolio (172 MW including a small offshore farm) to Aneo, and SUSI Partners completed the exit of its SREF II fund with the sale of a 25-turbine, 89 MW Danish portfolio to NRGi Renewables.
Solar PV: Broad-Based Activity, Every Project Stage
Solar PV appeared in 25 deals ranging from single-digit MWp development projects to multi-hundred-MW operational portfolios. In Italy, Sonnedix acquired a 194 MWp portfolio of six utility-scale plants in Lazio from EOS IM and Capital Dynamics, and European Energy divested its remaining stake in the 151 MW Mineo project in Sicily to Sosteneo, a project that secured a Contract for Difference under the FERX scheme. At the smaller end, Zenith Energy continued assembling an Italian agrivoltaic pipeline with three separate acquisitions totalling 48 MWp across Lazio, Piedmont, and Puglia.
In the UK, Capital Dynamics acquired the 63 MWp Fleet Solar Farm from BayWa r.e. (backed by an AR7 CfD), Ampyr Solar Europe picked up the 530 MW East Yorkshire Solar Farm from BOOM Power, and NextEnergy Solar Fund completed its multi-phase UK disposal with the sale of 100 MW to Atrato Onsite Energy for €52 million.
Poland saw its first major solar transaction of the year: Çalık Renewables, a Turkish developer, acquired its first European asset, a 255 MW operational PV portfolio near Sztum and Stargard from PAD RES Group. In Germany, Nuveen acquired Trianel’s 70.4 MWp Brandenburg solar park, and Pacifico Energy Partners placed the 24.4 MWp Göhl solar park into the Energy Invest Mittelhessen 1 fund.
Battery Storage: 21 Deals, the Breakout Quarter
Battery storage was involved in 21 of the 62 European deals, a third of all transactions. This is a remarkable number for a technology that five years ago barely registered on the M&A radar. The deals ranged from small integrated PV-BESS development projects to the Allianz €500 million portfolio acquisition.
The UK was particularly active, with Gresham House acquiring two BESS projects (the 240 MW Cockenzie and 57 MW Monet’s Garden) totalling 297 MW, and Elements Green purchasing the 148.8 MW Bolney Green Energy Hub, a four-hour duration project in West Sussex. S4 Energy added a 30 MW project in Northwest England. In France, Alpiq acquired Harmony Energy’s 100 MW / 200 MWh Cheviré BESS, currently France’s largest operational battery storage system.
Finland established itself as a significant BESS corridor. Four standalone storage transactions completed during the quarter: Nala Renewables acquired the 125 MW Vuolijoki project from Fu-Gen, Luxcara purchased the 125 MW Tuisku project from Pohjan Voima, Prime Capital acquired a 100 MW ready-to-build project in Teuva from Usva Energia, an undisclosed Frankfurt-based investor acquired an 85 MW project in Pyhäsalmi, and Icecreek Energy purchased a 15 MW three-project portfolio from Fu-Gen. Total Finnish BESS capacity transacted in Q1: 450 MW. All five Finnish projects were developed by specialist developers specifically for divestment, a clear sign that the develop-and-sell model that matured in wind and solar is now firmly established in European battery storage.
In Germany, beyond the Allianz deal, Flower International acquired a 63 MW / 257 MWh project in Döllnitz from CCE, Green FOX Energy sold an 85 MW PV co-location portfolio with integrated BESS to a German family office, and Milvio Energy divested standalone BESS and co-located PV/BESS projects totalling 150 MW. Lithuania saw Aquila Clean Energy sell a 50 MW / 100 MWh ready-to-build project to Energy Gates.
Offshore Wind: Three Development-Stage Transfers
Offshore wind activity was limited to three development-stage deals. RWE completed the transfer of the 350 MW F.E.W. Baltic II project in Poland to PGE. Q ENERGY entered the Pennavel floating offshore wind consortium off Brittany. And RWE sold its 48 MW Karehamn offshore wind farm in Sweden to Aneo as part of a broader Swedish portfolio exit. All three transactions involved development or early-operational assets; no large-scale operational offshore wind portfolio changed hands during the quarter.
Patterns in the European RE Market
Germany: 14 deals, the continent’s busiest market. Germany accounted for nearly a quarter of all European transactions, spanning every technology. The combination of coal and nuclear phase-outs, ambitious 2030 renewable targets (80% of electricity from renewables, German Federal Government, Energiewende targets), grid-fee exemptions for battery storage, and a planned capacity mechanism is creating structural demand for both generation and flexibility assets. German BESS grid connection requests have reached 226 GW of pending applications (Bundesnetzagentur, via Mobilityhouse Energy, April 2026). The pipeline far exceeds what can realistically be built, but the sheer volume of applications reflects how attractive the market has become.
Finland: 8 deals, the Nordic dark horse. With 1,423 MW of transacted capacity, Finland punched well above its weight. The 800 MW Nordic Generation wind acquisition was the single largest capacity deal, but the four standalone BESS transactions (totalling 450 MW) were arguably more significant from a market development perspective. Finland’s high wind penetration, competitive grid connection environment, and growing need for balancing services are creating conditions that closely mirror the early stages of the UK and German storage markets.
The UK: steady, diversified flow. Eleven deals covered onshore wind, solar PV, and BESS. The Gresham House storage acquisitions and the Elements Green purchase together added nearly 450 MW of BESS capacity. On the generation side, the UK CfD system continues to provide bankable offtake structures that international investors (Capital Dynamics, Boralex, ERG) are willing to pay for.
Cross-border entries. Several deals represented first-time market entries: Axium (Canada) into France, Çalık Renewables (Turkey) into Poland, ERG (Italy) into the UK, Innagreen Investments into the UK, and ContourGlobal into Greece. The European market is absorbing capital from an increasingly global investor base.
Disclosed pricing. Where prices were made public, they generally confirmed that operational wind portfolios with contracted revenue are trading at valuations that reflect both current yield and long-term contracted cash flows. The Ørsted disposal at €1.44 billion for a mixed portfolio with significant pipeline, the Iberdrola Hungary exit at €171 million for 158 MW operational wind, and the ERG UK deal at €130 million for 73 MW operational wind all provide reference points for market pricing.
What Q1 Signals for the Rest of 2026
The first quarter sets a pace that, if sustained, would make 2026 one of the most active years on record for European renewable energy M&A. Three dynamics stand out.
First, battery storage has entered the institutional mainstream. The Allianz deal is the reference transaction, but the breadth of BESS activity, 21 deals across seven countries, makes it clear that this is not a single outlier. The EU needs to scale its battery fleet from 77.3 GWh to roughly 750 GWh by 2030 (SolarPower Europe, EU Battery Storage Market Review, January 2026). That gap is creating demand for projects, and developers are responding by building BESS pipelines specifically for sale to institutional buyers.
Second, portfolio-scale transactions are dominating. The Ørsted, Allianz, Blue Elephant Energy, and EDP Greece deals all involve portfolios of multiple projects rather than single assets. Buyers are seeking scale, diversification, and operational efficiency. For sellers, packaging assets into portfolios commands valuation premiums and attracts a broader range of institutional bidders.
Third, the geographic spread of capital is widening. European renewable energy is no longer a market where domestic incumbents trade assets among themselves. Canadian pension-adjacent funds, Turkish developers, Japanese infrastructure investors, Italian utilities, and Norwegian listed companies are all active buyers. This deepening pool of capital is compressing returns on the most sought-after assets but also improving liquidity across the market.
Sources: Ember, IAEA, Solar Power Europe
Picture Source: Karsten Würth, American Public Power Association, Matthew Henry via Unsplash
