Axfood, Alight sign power purchase deal for Sweden’s biggest solar park – EQ Mag

Swedish independent power producer Alight Energy has announced plans to build a 64MW solar farm in Hallstavik, Sweden, which will be the solar facility with the largest capacity in the country upon its completion.

The project, which will be built in the municipality of Norrtälje in south-east Sweden, is also notable for its means of financing. Swedish retailer Axfood has signed a 12-year power purchase agreement (PPA) to buy power from the project, and announced that it was funding the deal through debt financing, rather than equity, as has historically been commonplace in Sweden.

While neither company announced the price which Axfood would pay for the power, Alight noted that it would be a “low, fixed price”, and it would continue to operate the plant once construction is complete. Alight is to begin construction at the project this week, and expects the facility to be operational in the second quarter of next year.

“We’re proud that this will be Sweden’s largest solar park at the time of commissioning, and the fact that this is the first time non-recourse project financing will be used to build a solar park in Sweden is also a great milestone that signifies a promising shift in the feasibility of renewable energy projects to come,” said Alight CEO Harald Överholm.

The project is the latest in Alight’s portfolio of solar facilities in Europe, following its work with Neoen to build a 90MWp solar park in Sweden. The company is aiming to develop solar projects with a combined capacity of 5GW by 2030, each funded with PPAs, in order to provide clean power to companies outside of the solar sector. The company is currently developing more than 1GW of solar projects in Sweden, alongside more than 250MW elsewhere in Europe.

Source: pv-tech