Grenergy, the renewable energy producer and specialist in the development, construction and management of photovoltaic, wind and storage projects, has entered the United States renewable energy market with the purchase of 40% of the developer of photovoltaic and battery projects Sofos Harbert Renewable Energy (“Sofos Harbert”) based in Birmingham, Alabama.
Grenergy, which will have the possibility of gradually acquiring the entire shareholding of Sofos Harbert three years after the closing of this operation, has valued, among other things, the solid experience of its management team in the country, achieving more than 560 MW of solar PV projects developed and connected for third parties.
In this sense, for the entry into its capital, Grenergy has also considered its portfolio of 2 GW of solar energy under development in the countryin three different electricity markets (Southeast, PJM, MISO) with high growth potential, as well as its experience in energy storage projects and its organizational structure with more than 20 employees.
Its management team, as well as its reference partner -local businessman Billy Harbert, main shareholder of the construction company BL Harbert International, based in Birmingham, Alabama-, have extensive experience and proven background in the energy and construction company in the United States, which will complement the capabilities of Grenergy, which also has a team with extensive experience in the sector.
In this way, Grenergy invests in the United States through a platform currently in operation with a local partner of recognized prestige and quickly enters the world’s largest energy market and on the rise of renewables, which foresees an increase in the deployment of photovoltaic solar energy that it will go from the current 61 GW to 1,000 GW in 2035.
This agreement also represents Grenergy’s first acquisition within the framework of its growth plan, which already leads it to be present in three regions with dedicated platforms, adding the United States to those already present in Latin America and Europe.
The company has also presented this Monday the results corresponding to 2021, which show a 94% growth in its income, up to 220 million euros, from the sale of parks and energy. Likewise, the company has reported an advance of 75% in its Ebitda.
According to DDavid Ruiz de Andrés, CEO of Grenergy, “this strategic operation allows us an accelerated growth in the United States; a market that will install more solar capacity in the coming years than Europe and Latin America combined. And we will do it in an orderly manner, through our investment in a company like Sofos Harbert, which has a broad portfolio of projects and a highly qualified local team”.
According Billy Harbert, Chairman of Sofos Harbert”This operation is one more step to consolidate the company that we founded in 2017 to develop the photovoltaic solar market in the Southeast of the United States and we believe that the entry of a leading company such as Grenergy with an indisputable track-record as a developer, promoter and operator of assets of renewable energies throughout the world, will undoubtedly be a catalyst for the evolution of Sofos Harbert in the coming years”.
Grenergy has been advised on this transaction by PWC (financial), Clifford Chance (legal) and Enertis (technical) while Sofos Harbert has advised RS Corporate Finance (financial) and Dentons (legal)
