Sunly increases capacity in the Baltics and Poland
Sunly raised €300 million from Scandinavian and French investors for the construction of 1.3 GW of solar, wind, storage, and hybrid parks. The investment will build large-scale hybrid parks in the Baltics and Poland, which will help contribute to the availability of renewable energy in the region.
Behind the financing of €300 million are Rivage Investment operating in France through a fund dedicated to solutions to climate problems, the world’s leading renewable energy investor Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP) through the Green Credit I fund and the Norwegian pension fund KLP.
Sunly Co-Founder and CEO, Priit Lepasepp, believed that the received investment can contribute to the achievement of the ambitious renewable energy goals of the entire Baltic region and Poland. “We will use the investment for the construction of new grid connections and solar parks in the Baltics. We can also use the same network connections to connect onshore wind farms and batteries that are currently under development to the network. This enables participation in local renewable energy tenders, which increase Sunly’s contribution to meeting the 2030 national renewable energy goals in the Baltics,” said Lepasepp.
“Estonia has a definite plan – to produce all the electricity we need from renewable sources by 2030. Already in the last quarter, renewable electricity accounted for almost half of the consumption,” said Climate Minister, Yoko Alender.” What’s good for the climate is good for the wallet. Renewable energy is the cheapest. Every investment in renewable energy increases wellbeing and is a step towards a sustainable and safe future for us and future generations,” stated Alender.
One of the first projects to be financed is the 244 MW solar park at Ristil , where wind turbines and batteries will be added in the future. The Rist solar park can cover the annual electricity consumption of 55 000 households. The construction of four solar parks in Latvia with a total capacity of 553 MW will also be started. There are plans to add wind turbines, batteries or a combination of these to all of these parks at a later date. The 1.3 GW portfolio also includes several large hybrid solar farms in Lithuania and small and large solar farms in Poland. The financing supports Sunly’s goal of building 4.6 GW of solar and wind farms with storage technology in Poland and the Baltics by 2030.
According to Gaétane Tracz , Partner and Head of the Infrastructure Debt Team at Rivage, they are very pleased to support Sunly’s strong leadership during their ambitious growth trajectory and help accelerate the construction of hybrid renewable energy parks in the Baltics and Poland.” We share Sunly’s mission to contribute to the energy security of the European Union and to make investments that have both attractive returns and ESG impact,” added Tracz.
Jakob Groot, CIP Partner and Co-Head of CI Green Credit Fund I, is delighted to start working with Sunly and their highly experienced management team. “This financing package significantly contributes to the development and construction of renewable energy projects, supporting the ambitions of the Baltic States and Poland to reduce carbon emissions, and is an attractive investment for our Green Credit Fund I,” commented Groot.
According to Oliver Siem , Director of Investments and Operations of Kommunal Landspensjonskasse (KLP), KLP is happy to be involved as a co-investor in renewable energy projects in Poland and the Baltics in cooperation with CIP. “This is one of the many steps in achieving our goal of being in line with the Paris Agreement by 2050,” insisted Siem.
Together with the amount announced today, Sunly has raised a total of €765 million in debt and equity capital to develop renewable energy in the Baltics and Poland. In 2023, Sunly raised €200 million in equity capital from existing investors, the French fund Mirova and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).
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