RWE Strengthens Its Polish Renewables Business With Acquisition Of 3 Gigawatts Solar Pipeline

“With the acquisition of Alpha Solar, we are expanding our presence in Poland, one of our focus markets, and are taking a leading market position in solar. The experienced development team joining RWE and the attractive project pipeline are a perfect match with our existing business. RWE is already one of the world's leading renewable energy companies and this transaction underlines our ambition to grow rapidly and sustainably,” said Markus Krebber, CEO of RWE AG.

European renewables business

RWE has further strengthened its European renewables business by acquiring Alpha Solar, a Polish photovoltaic (PV) development company.

RWE has further strengthened its European renewables business by acquiring Alpha SolarWith this, RWE takes over a solar project pipeline in Poland with a total capacity of approx. 3 GWac. The acquisition represents a strategic enhancement for RWE and adds to its existing global development pipeline of 10 gigawatts in solar projects. It was agreed to keep confidentiality on the purchase price.

The acquired pipeline is spread across Poland. The majority of projects are of utility-scale in various stages of development. The maturity of projects ranges from early phase identified opportunities to ready-to-build projects.

Developing new projects

“This acquisition represents an excellent opportunity for RWE to diversify our global solar footprint, while further enhancing our local capabilities and renewables project pipeline in Poland. The country offers good locations for solar plants. We warmly welcome our new colleagues at RWE. Together with the existing team we are well positioned to implement this large-scale project pipeline in the years to come,” said Katja Wünschel, CEO - Onshore Wind and PV Europe & Australia at RWE Renewables.

The development platform comes with a team of around 60 professionals with vast experience in the solar sector. Headquartered in Warsaw and supported by three local offices in Inowrocław, Łódź and Rzeszów, the team has expertise across the entire development process from land acquisition to construction readiness.

As part of RWE Renewables, they will work on delivering the existing pipeline of solar projects as well as developing new projects.

Newly acquired pipeline

RWE is pushing ahead with its portfolio expansion in onshore and offshore wind

The acquisition underpins RWE’s ambition to rigorously drive the expansion of its Polish solar business.

Furthermore, during 2022 and 2023 period, RWE also plans to build and commission new PV projects in Poland with a capacity of approx. 70 MWac, in addition to its newly acquired pipeline.

RWE expands onshore and offshore wind portfolio

In addition, RWE is pushing ahead with its portfolio expansion in onshore and offshore wind. The company already operates onshore wind farms in Poland with a capacity of more than 420 megawatts. Construction of the Wierzchlas project (7 MW) and Żnin (48 MW) are underway.

RWE’s onshore wind farms Dolice (48 MW) and Lech Nowy Staw III (12 MW) are to be commissioned soon. In addition, RWE is preparing for the construction of its 350 MW F.E.W. Baltic II offshore wind farm and has applied for all 11 areas of the Baltic Sea selected by the Polish government for further offshore wind farms.