Macquarie launches 8GW European solar pipeline

Australian banking giant Macquarie Group’s Green Investment Group has this week launched Cero Generation, a European solar energy company which a portfolio of more than 8 gigawatts and more than 150 solar projects already under development.

Cero Generation will have one of Europe’s largest solar development portfolios, and will consolidate GIG’s existing and future European solar activities in the United Kingdom, Italy, Spain, Poland, France, and the Netherlands.

“In just two years, GIG created one of Europe’s largest solar development portfolios and assembled a world-class team of experts,” said Nikolaj Harbo, CEO of Cero Generation.

“Our ambition is to continue on this phenomenal growth trajectory, transforming Cero into Europe’s leading solar energy company, and helping deliver the continent’s net-zero ambition.”

Cero says it will develop, finance, build, own, and operate on-site behind-the-meter solar projects for both commercial and industrial customers so as to help these companies reduce energy bills and achieve their decarbonisation goals.

Last month, Macquarie’s GIG announced it would invest in esVolta, a developer and owner of utility-scale energy storage projects across North America, allowing it to tap into California’s grid-scale battery boom which, despite the impact of the global COVID-19 pandemic, saw record-shattering success through 2020 and built a pipeline expected to continue delivering record figures through 2021.

“esVolta is a leading storage developer with an outstanding management team and significant growth potential across new markets,” said Greg Callman, Global Head of Energy Technology for the Green Investment Group, speaking in late-January.

Macquarie has similarly made efforts in the past year to expand its GIG work into a range of global renewable energy markets. In June the GIG partnered with UK renewable energy developer Enso Energy to build a pipeline of solar and battery projects across the UK which will start with an initial 1GW of subsidy-free solar capacity.

In September, GIG partnered with French oil & gas supermajor Total in a 50/50 partnership to develop a portfolio of five large floating offshore wind projects in South Korea with a combined capacity of more than 2GW, the largest in the word.

Total and GIG’s expansion into South Korea will enable both companies to tap into what is expected to be one of the world’s next major renewable energy markets.