List of the 300 largest solar park investors in Europe [2024]

Description

List of 5 large solar park investors in Europe

The world is in the midst of a worldwide crisis: the global warming. Greenhouse gases are the biggest drivers of climate change, one of which is carbon dioxide. The combustion of coal, crude oil and even natural gas for energy produces carbon dioxide and therefore highly contributes to global warming. At the same time, energy demands are as high as ever and rising with increasing industrialization. Moreover, the reserves of natural resources, especially crude oil, are coming to an end. In a nutshell: renewable energy is one of the most relevant topics in the (near) future. This of course accounts for the investment field, in which renewable energy is an important topic. Europe is home to many of renewable energy investors, specifically home to a lot of solar energy investors. Investing not only in Europe but world wide, European solar investors have a leading role in the worldwide energy transition. This article presents 5 of the leading solar energy investors from Europe.

1. Octopus Renewables (London, UK)

Octopus Renewables is a company you can’t get around in the renewable energy sector. Since 2010 the London-based investor became on of the most important solar investors in Europe, in addition to their important standing for wind energy investments. Investing mainly in Europe, Octopus Renewables now has a total of 3.25 GW of total portfolio capacity (including wind energy). The surface area of installed solar parks accounts for 1,644 football stadiums. Solar energy makes up just over 30% of the renewable energy investors portfolio. More than 2.3 million homes are powered each year by the renewable assets Octopus manages.

Update 2024: Octopus has successfully made its first investment in US renewables, as it intensifies its involvement in the market with the objective of investigating §2 billion in generation projects by 2030. Octopus acquired two solar farms in Pennsylvania and Ohio. The two projects have a combined capacity of 100MW, which is enough energy to power 20,000 homes with renewable energy.

2. Cubico sustainable investments (London, UK)

Cubico sustainable investments is also a London-based renewable energy investor. Founded in 2015, the company has worked its way up to the top in only 6 years and accounts as one of the worlds leading investment firms for solar and wind energy. Cubico is jointly owned by Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan and PSP Investments. The company invests in solar photovoltaic as well as solar thermal energy, mainly in Europe and in the Americas. Overall, the England-based solar investor is active in 9 countries – Spain, UK, Greece, Italy, Uruguay, Colombia, Mexico, Australia, and USA – and has installed over 2.8 GW energy with 450 MW in construction. The company’s portfolio includes onshore wind, solar thermal, solar photovoltaic, battery energy storage systems (BESS) and transmission and distribution line technologies.

Update 2024: The company has achieved many milestones in Colombia recently. Two of their projects have been energised, which adds a total capacity of 39 MW to their portfolio. Additionally they started the construction of two new projects. These projects will create over 500 local jobs in the construction phase. These developments will bring Cubico’s total installed capacity to over 570 MWp in Colombia.

3. Encavis AG (Hamburg, Germany)

The German renewable energy investment and asset manager Envacis AG is based in Hamburg. Encavis AG is the largest German solar park operator listed on the stock market and therefore highly relevant for the energy transition in Germany but also in Europe, as the manager is active in various European countries. Established in 2018 from the merger of Capital Stage AG and the CHORUS Clean Energy AG, Encavis now focusses on investments in solar energy as well as wind energy which later stays in the company as Encavis is active in operating as well.

Update 2024: Hamburg-based Encavis reports a robust renewable energy portfolio exceeding 3.4 GW. In January 2024, Encavis AG acquired the 30 MW Pozzolo solar project in Piedmont, Italy, set to go live in 2025. The project is expected to generate around 42 GW annually, and will be under a long-term Power Purchase Agreement (PPA).

4. NextEnergy Capital (London, England)

NextEnergy Capital is a renewable energy investor with a clear focus on solar energy. Since its founding in 2007, the investor has built up a portfolio of 1 GW of installed capacity and 1.5 GWp in operation in 9 countries, with $4 billion under management.. Their geographical focus lies mainly in the United Kingdom as well as in Italy – with a total of 461 solar plants invested in. Therefore NextEnergy Capital, which headquarters is in London, belongs to one of the most important solar investors in Europe. Moreover, the renewable energy player is also active as a developer with their subsidiary NextPower Development (NPD) since the beginning. Additionally NextEnergy undertakes asset and portfolio management activities with its subsidiary WiseEnergy International Limited.

5. Sonnedix (Saint Grégoire, France)

As the name already suggests, Sonnedix is a French solar investor. The investor is also active in various other steps in the value chain, such as developing and building. The independent power producer (IPP) was founded in 2009 and now has 10.8 GW of total capacity with 1.1 GW under construction in ten countries. Most solar projects are in Europe’s sunniest countries: Spain and Italy, where the geographical focus of the solar energy investor is. Sonnedix is globally present and also owns solar projects in the United Kingdom, South Africa, Japan, Puerto Rico and in Chile.

Update 2024: Sonnedix announced this September that it has acquired an 80 MW solar PV plant from Blunova SpA in Sicily. Once complete, Sonnedix will hold a solar plant portfolio with a total of 250 MW across Southern Italy. This portfolio is expected to produce more than 145,000 MWh in the first year, powering over 55,000 households.

Research for our directory of European solar park investors

As all our lists do, gathering data for our list of European solar energy investors is based an intensive research process: our team screens transactions, analyzes new projects, and cooperates with various investors and project developers in the renewables industry. Through our state-of-the-art crawler technology, the list is updated and extended multiple times per year. All entries that are included in the list can also be retrieved through our online database. In case we missed an important investor, please submit it here.

Different types of green energy investors covered

Our list mainly includes three different types of renewable energy investors: asset- and investment-managers, utilities, and family offices. Asset managers are investing in the name of institutional investors and managing a renewables portfolio for their funds. That includes operating the portfolio, selling the energy through PPAs and on the free market, and acquiring new assets. Utilities are acquiring – and in some cases building on their own – renewable assets to ensure CO2-neutral and cheap energy supply for their customers. Family offices – the investment firms of high net worth families – recently started to invest in renewables and also to acquire wind and solar parks.

Included columns in our renewable investor database

All information that is available on specific investor pages, and even more data points (like executives). The list includes all publicly available information or data points shared by the investors themselves. For instance, specific information like installed capacity are only included when stated on the website.

• Company Name
• Legal form
• URL
• Country
• City
• Postcode
• Address
• Email
• Phone
• LinkedIn Account of C-Level Executives
• Onshore Wind?
• Offshore Wind?
• Solar?
• Hydro?
• Tidal?
• Hydrogen projects?
• Geothermal?
• Energy storage?
• PPA?
• Type of Investor (Asset-/Investmentmanager, Family Office, Utility, IPP (Independent Power Producer))
• Executives
• Regional Focus
• Installed capacity in MW

Picture Source: Markus Spiske & Nuno Marques via Unsplash (21.03.2023)