Sunny day for Statkraft as Solarcentury joins the team
Statkraft, Europe’s largest renewable energy producer also becomes a leading developer in the European solar market, as the company welcomes the Solarcentury team into the business. On World Sun Day, it is announced that Solarcentury has officially joined Statkraft, as the company will cease trading under the name Solarcentury.
Solar energy is the fastest growing renewable power sources in the world. Solarcentury’s projects span high-growth markets in Europe and South America and may support solar energy investment in Scandinavia in the future, where the solar market is less developed.
Statkraft has a target to develop 8 GW of wind and solar by 2025. Since the acquisition of Solarcentury in late November, the two businesses have already made significant progress towards this target.
Over the last six months, Solarcentury finished construction on 550MWp, achieved key milestone permits for 1.22GWp and submitted planning for another 423 MWp.
Globally, solar capacity has grown 27 times over the last decade and solar energy is expected to become the world’s largest source of electricity from 2035, according to Statkraft’s 2020 Low Emissions Scenario.
Birgitte Ringstad Vartdal, EVP European Wind and Solar at Statkraft said: “We are delighted to bring the Solarcentury team into Statkraft. The integration of our teams will help us become one of the leading renewables companies in the world. To limit carbon emissions and transition away from fossil fuels we need significant transformation in our energy systems. Investment in renewable energy production – including solar and wind energy – and a greener grid are essential to every country’s journey to reach net zero.”
Barbara Flesche, former CEO at Solarcentury and now CFO, European Wind and Solar at Statkraft, commented: “Our team are thrilled to continue to grow as part of Statkraft. During Solarcentury’s 22-year history the business helped solar power become mainstream, and our projects generated 6 billion kWh of clean electricity, saving over 1.7 million tonnes of CO2 emissions. As part of Statkraft, our position in the market is stronger than ever as Europe’s largest renewable energy producer.”
Solarcentury’s team is now fully merged under the Statkraft brand and integrated into operations in Europe and Latin America.