Ence to sell five Spanish solar farms to Naturgy for 62m euros

Spain’s Ence will sell five solar farms in Spain totaling 373MW to Naturgy for 62 million euros, it said in a statement on Monday.

Ence’s renewable energy subsidiary Energia said it will reinvest the funds from the sale into new projects, focusing on renewable energy generated with biomass and photovoltaics, as well as energy storage.

The asset rotation operation has been carried out with the aim of continuing  to invest and grow the renewable energy business and to support the guarantee of the electricity system supply, the company said. It will continue to participate in the construction of the five facilities, which are located in Huelva, Seville, Jaen and Granada.

In December 2020, Ence completed the sale of 90 percent of its stake in the Puertollano thermosolar plant of which the five facilities are a part of – a transaction that helped the company diversify its growth in both renewable energy and biomaterials, as part of its commitment to the development of the bioeconomy in Spain.

The assets already have network connection permits and secured locations. Administrative processing is expected to be completed before completion of the sale to Naturgy in the coming months, Ence said.

The approximate deadlines for closing the sale operation, which may be individual for each plant, vary between the fourth quarter of 2022 and the first quarter of 2024.

The group seeks to continue strengthening its renewable energy business, while continuing to develop its core businesses, the company said in a statement.