Renewable energy producer Grenergy, a pioneer in the development, construction, and management of photovoltaic, wind, and storage projects, has reinforced its commitment to renewable energy in the United States with the acquisition of 60 percent of Birmingham-based Sofos Harbert Renewable Energy. The company informed the Spanish National Securities Market Commission (CNMV) of the purchase.
This acquisition took place ahead of the three-year period foreseen in the initial
contract, which was signed in February 2022, when the listed company bought 40%
of the company. With this transaction, Sofos Harbert becomes Grenergy’s subsidiary
in the country, and is now called Grenergy US.
Sofos Harbert has an experienced team, which is currently developing a portfolio of
1.9 GW of solar energy in the country, in addition to storage projects, in three different
electricity markets (Southeast, PJM, MISO) with high growth potential.
With this strategy, Grenergy completes its investment plans in the United States
through a platform that is already operational. This strengthens its position in the
world’s largest energy market, which is experiencing a spectacular boom in
renewables. A historic investment of 340,000 million euros will be allocated to this
sector by Joe Biden’s government. From 2030 onwards, 100 GW of photovoltaic
power will be installed per year.
The transaction, which has been advised by Clifford & Dentons and RS Corporate
Finance, is part of Grenergy’s growth plans in the three markets in which it operates,
Europe, Latin America and the US, where it has a target installed capacity of 5GW in
solar and wind, and for the first time in storage, where it aims to reach 1 GWh
between operation and construction by 2025.
According to David Ruiz de Andrés, CEO of Grenergy, “this strategic transaction
allows us to take another step forward in our 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 so by controlling the entirety of Sofos
Harbert, a company with a highly qualified local team.”
Clifford Chance advised Grenergy with a team made up of Washington DC partner Michael Bonsignore, Madrid senior associate Eduardo Sánchez Roldán and New York associates Stephanie Kilmer and Vicki Ye. Partner Paul Seraganian and associate Tomislava Dragicevic advised on US Tax matters.
Clifford Chance also advised Grenergy on its entry into the US market in February 2022.
