Aberdeen Standard Investments acquired a 40.4 MW solar portfolio from Green Genius

Aberdeen Standard Investments (ASI) and Green Genius, part of the Modus Group international group of companies, have finalised a transaction whereby ASI will acquire a 100% stake in a 40.4 MW turnkey portfolio of ground mounted solar photovoltaic (“PV”) farms from Green Genius.

The portfolio was developed and constructed by Green Genius and consists of 41 state of the art individual projects with a total installed capacity of 40.4 MW. All of the projects have been awarded a 15 year contract-for-difference (“CfD”) support mechanism ensuring stability of electricity pricing for the projects. The portfolio is entirely located in Poland, predominantly in the west and north-west of the country. On agreement between the parties, the value of the transaction will not be disclosed.

Dominic Helmsley, Head of Economic Infrastructure, Aberdeen Standard Investments, said: “In July 2019 we made our first investment in the Polish renewable infrastructure market. Over the course of just over a year, our solar PV portfolio in Poland has grown to over 350 MW – which we believe to be the single largest portfolio in the market. We are deeply committed to play an active role in supporting Poland’s transition to a renewable energy future. We are pleased to further expand our cooperation with Green Genius while continuing to invest into premium infrastructure assets in Europe. In particular, we focus on projects which fulfil our robust environmental, social and governance (ESG) criteria, of which the solar PV portfolio in Poland is a prime example.”

It was the second transaction between ASI and Green Genius. In July 2019, ASI acquired a portfolio of 45.4 MW solar PV farms from Green Genius which represented ASI’s first investment in the renewable infrastructure sector in Poland.

Ruslan Sklepovič, CEO of Green Genius and Member of the Board at Modus Group, responsible for the area of renewable energy, added: “During the last few years we have witnessed the rapid growth of the renewable energy sector in Poland and Green Genius is one of the biggest developers in this market. Thanks to our presence for a number of years we have accumulated robust know-how in renewable energy project development and our successful partnership with Aberdeen Standard Investments is proof that Green Genius is a viable partner for leading global companies. Poland remains our key strategic market and we have already begun the construction process for a third portfolio of solar PV farms. We are also in the process of acquiring projects for a fourth portfolio of solar PV farms and preparing for the upcoming renewable energy auction.”

Upon the implementation of the third solar park portfolio, the total capacity of solar projects installed by Green Genius in Poland will amount to almost 130 MW. They will generate more than 136 GWh CO2 free energy annually. This is equivalent to the amount of CO2 that approximately 1.8 million 10-year-old trees can absorb in a year.

The portfolio was acquired by ASI’s SL Capital Infrastructure II fund (“SLCI II”). The company’s Economic Infrastructure programme focuses on investing in core infrastructure assets in Europe, and already holds 12 other assets including: a gas distribution business in Finland, a portfolio of hydro-electric plants in Norway, four rolling stock assets in the UK, a stake in an offshore gas transmission pipeline in the Netherlands, stakes in two district heating businesses in Finland, and refined hydrocarbon storage assets in Germany and the UK.

CMS, one of the largest law firms in the world, acted as a legal adviser to Green Genius in the acquisition process.