RWE has revved up its clean energy capabilities with the acquisition of JBM Solar, a top independent developer. This move reinforces their UK strategy to diversify and expand by adding more solar and battery storage projects - an innovative direction that capitalizes on renewable technology! As one of the largest renewables developers in Britain, this milestone marks another exciting step towards building greener power sources for future generations.
With the acquisition of JBM Solar, RWE takes over a mature pipeline with a combined capacity of around 6.1 gigawatts (GWac), split into 3.8 GWac of solar and 2.3 GWac of battery storage projects. Most of the projects are in the central and southern regions of England and a large proportion already have grid connections and land secured. A number of projects are ready for final investment decision and have secured the necessary planning approvals from the relevant authorities. This means that the first solar and battery storage projects could be operational as early as end of 2024. It is expected that on average about 450 megawatts (MWac) per year will be commissioned.
Katja Wünschel, CEO Onshore Wind and Solar Europe & Australia of RWE Renewables: “We are already well positioned in offshore and onshore wind in the UK. Now we are significantly strengthening our renewables business by adding this already very advanced solar and battery pipeline. The combined development pipeline, one of the largest in the UK, provides tremendous opportunities for sustainable and value accretive growth. The first projects could be delivering electricity as early as next year. I´m very pleased to welcome our new colleagues from JBM Solar and to jointly driving forward the green expansion of RWE in the UK.”
The JBM Solar business comes with a team of around 30 professionals with extensive and long-standing experience in the solar sector. Headquartered in London and founded in 2012, the team has expertise across the entire development process from land acquisition to construction readiness. JBM Solar was acquired from London-based renewables investor Susgen.
The acquisition underpins RWE’s ambition to rigorously drive the expansion of its renewables business in the United Kingdom, one of RWE’s core markets. RWE is a leading global player in renewables and expects to invest more than €50 billion gross by 2030 to grow its green core business internationally, with around £15 billion earmarked for the UK.
RWE already has a strong footprint in UK wind power, with a combined capacity of more than 2.6 GW (RWE pro-rata) consisting of 10 offshore and 33 onshore wind farms in operation. With further offshore wind projects under construction or development and plans to establish commercial scale floating wind farms including in the Celtic Sea, RWE has one of the largest offshore wind pipelines in the UK. The company is a key partner in helping the UK Government achieve its target of increasing the UK offshore wind capacity to 50 GW by 2030. In the area of onshore wind power, RWE also intends to grow its development and operating projects.
Photo Credits: RWE, RWE UK and Katja Wünschel (Linkedin)
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