AlphaReal, an asset investment manager, has acquired five solar energy projects across the UK in deals valued at over £160m.
The largest acquisition is the 66.6MWp Bockingfold Solar Farm, a ground-mounted solar PV power station in Kent. Originally developed by Voltalia, the project secured a 15-year contract for difference (CfD) in 2023 during the fifth auction round, where a total of 56 solar projects with a combined 1,928MW capacity were awarded contracts.
The consented development was acquired by Elm Trading in December 2024 and is currently under construction, with power generation expected by mid-2026.
AlphaReal has also invested in three solar farms developed by European Energy, located in Bath, Aberdeenshire, and Lincolnshire. These sites have a combined capacity of 114MWp and are scheduled to begin electricity generation in the first half of 2025.
One of these, the 19MW Marksbury Plain Solar Farm in Bath, has a long-term power purchase agreement (PPA) with Asahi Europe & International (AEI), the international arm of Asahi Group Holdings.
The final acquisition is a 4.98MWp operational solar plant in Wiltshire, developed by Q Energy Europe GmbH. According to AlphaReal, this asset benefits from 11.5 years of index-linked subsidies.
The two companies have worked together before; in June 2023, Q Energy sold a 33MW under-construction solar PV plant in Northeast England to AlphaReal. The Whinfield High Grange solar project was one of two AlphaReal assets awarded a CfD in allocation round six (AR6) last year.
Raza Ali, investment director for renewable infrastructure at AlphaReal, stated that the firm only acquires assets with secured land, planning, and grid connection dates.
AlphaReal follows a diversified investment strategy across the UK, focusing on onshore wind and ground-mounted solar. In AR6, it also secured a CfD for its 12.9MWp CE Tacher Turbines onshore wind project.
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