SSE shares were up 1.6% to 1,815p in early morning trading on Wednesday after the energy company acquired from Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy’s (SGRE) existing European renewable energy development platform for €580 million.
The portfolio includes a reported 3.9GW of onshore wind developments, with half of the assets located in Spain and the rest situated across France, Italy and Greece.
The agreement is on track for completion by September 2022, and marks the energy giant’s entry into the Southern European market on the back of its existing 4GW of renewable energy assets based in the UK and Ireland.
The company also said that there is scope for up to 1GW of additional co-located opportunities for solar development.
SSE Renewables confirmed that it is currently aiming to have 500MW of renewable energy projects from the SGRE assets operational by March 2026, alongside an additional 500MW in the company’s production pipeline.
The acquisition stands to boost the group’s Net Zero Acceleration Programme (NZAP), and ticks several vital boxes on the company’s target list.
The acquisition is set to bring 4GW of net additions over five years, doubling SSE’s installed renewables capacity to 8GW by 2026, alongside a pipeline consistency of at least 15GW of renewable development.
The portfolio will also bring the firm towards a delivery of at least 1GW in net capacity additions per year over the second half of the decade and triple the company’s installed renewables capacity to over 13GW, with an additional fivefold increase target to 50TWh in renewables output per year by 2031.
“We are delighted to boost the delivery of SSE’s Net Zero Acceleration Programme by expanding our existing renewables business into Southern Europe through this acquisition,” said SSE Renewables managing director Stephen Wheeler.
“Mainland Europe is an exciting growth market for onshore wind, with clear carbon reduction targets and supportive policies, and the expert management team will complement our sector-leading capabilities perfectly.”
“The project portfolio brings some excellent assets and will provide a real springboard for our expansion plans in Europe across wind, solar, batteries and hydrogen.”