AMPYR Solar Europe secures Eur400 mil funding for 2-GW solar program

AMPYR Solar Europe has secured a Eur400 million loan from CarVal Investors to support the construction of over 2 GW of European solar photovoltaic capacity by 2025, ASE said Feb. 16.

This initial development phase, focused on sites in Germany, the Netherlands and the UK, forms part of ASE's overall target to roll out 5 GW of utility-scale solar in Northwest Europe.

"With the support of CarVal as our capital partner, we are on a steady path to turn our fast-progressing pipeline into a portfolio of large-scale solar power producing assets that will contribute meaningfully to Europe's energy transition," said ASE Executive Chairman Andrew Gould.

ASE is a joint venture of AGP Sustainable Real Assets, Hartree Partners and NaGa Solar.

The capital-intensive nature of the clean energy transition "means that partnerships like this remain one of the largest opportunity sets for CarVal," said Jonathan Hunt, Managing Director at CarVal Investors.

ASE expects to break ground on its first projects in Q2 this year and be operational by the end of the year. Full deployment is foreseen by 2025.

"Volatile and competitive power markets increasingly require solar developers to optimize between long-term power purchasers, the grid and storage assets," said Abraham Kozhipatt, Partner and Co-Head of Renewable Infrastructure Assets at Hartree Partners.

European solar and wind capture prices have surged in recent months on the back of the energy crisis.

S&P Global Platts assessed the German solar capture price at Eur125.74/MWh, up almost Eur100/MWh year on year. The assessment is averaging Eur170.74/MWh this year to Feb. 8.

In its most recent long-term European power forecast published Dec. 16, Platts Analytics saw German solar capture prices in 2025 averaging just over Eur67.00/MWh, or 85% of forecast wholesale power prices.