European independent power producer Alternus Energy Group said it had acquired a 64.6 MW Polish solar project from BayWa r.e., a renewable energy projects developer. Both parties had signed a sales agreement last month.

With this acquisition, the solar park – located in Witnica, Poland, becomes Alternus’ largest operational solar farm. The project is Poland’s first subsidy-free utility-scale solar installation with a corporate power purchase (PPA) agreement. A 10-year virtual PPA is secured with Gorazdze Cement S.A., a subsidiary of Heidelberg Cement Group.

Joseph Duey, Chief Financial Officer of Alternus Energy, said that the company’s cumulative capacity increased to 130 MW across 24 solar parks in five European countries with this acquisition.

BayWa r.e. will continue to supply operations and maintenance services at the solar park, the company said in a press statement.

Commenting on the acquisition, Vincent Browne, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Alternus Energy, said, “We are delighted to mark our official entry into the Polish market with the acquisition of the Witnica solar park, the first subsidy-free, PPA-backed utility-scale solar installation in Poland. We have plans for further expansion within the country over the next 12 months.”

Benedikt Ortmann, Global Director of Solar Projects at BayWa r.e., said the project’s sale to Alternus Energy is in line with our goal of developing and selling additional solar capacity in future years and highlights the attractiveness of renewable energy assets to investors.

In June 2021, Alternus Energy Group acquired a 60% share in Unisun Energy, a Netherlands-based renewable energy project developer and engineering, procurement, and construction service provider.

In May 2021, Alternus Energy acquired a 20 MW solar park LJG Green Source Energy Beta SRL in Romania from Risen Energy for €22 million (~$26.4 million). The solar park has been in operation since 2013 and produces approximately 25.5 GWh of power annually.

Mercom had earlier reported that BayWa r.e. acquired Enable Energy, a U.S.-based commercial and industrial solar and energy storage solutions provider. The company says it currently has 3 GW of renewable energy online while managing 8.3 GW of assets around the world.

According to Mercom’s 1H and Q2 2021 Solar Funding and M&A Report, in 1H 2021, 135 projects were acquired, totaling 39.3 GW compared to 91 project acquisitions for 14.7 GW in 1H 2020.