Verbund AG has acquired 4.5GW of PV and wind power projects in Spain from Q-Energy Group. The transaction was announced on May 9, and the news was first picked up by other renewable energy news outlets. Verbund is the largest electricity provider in Austria, covering about 40% of the country’s demand. Q-Energy Group specializes in investments related to renewable energy. The value of the transaction has yet to be disclosed.
The 4.5GW portfolio comprises 82MWp of operational PV projects, around 2.1GW of PV and wind power projects at an advanced stage of development, and around 2.4GW of greenfield projects. Most of these projects are located in Castilla-La Mancha that is the central part of Spain and Andalusia that is the southern part of the country. Once the transaction is fully completed, Verbund will own 100% of the stakes in these projects. Furthermore, Verbund will also assume control of the development teams that are working on these projects.
Verbund generates more than 95% of its electricity at hydroelectric dams in Austria and southern Germany. The company now aims to have solar PV and wind power account for 20-25% of its generation. Also, the company entered the Spanish market in November 2021 with the acquisition of the 150MWp Illora PV project that was previously owned by BayWa r.e. AG. Then in March 2022, Verbund acquired a 70% stake in five renewable project companies from Capital Energy Power Vortice SLU. One of them relates to solar PV and the remaining four relate to wind power. The latest deal with Q-Energy Group is another step forward with respect to reaching the 2030 target and expansion into the Spanish market.