Construction of Sweden’s largest solar park, equivalent to 101 football fields, is expected to start soon, following the announcement of a power purchase agreement between solar developer Alight and food retail group Axfood.
In a media statement, the companies said that Alight will build, own and operate the solar farm in Hallstavik, in the eastern part of the country, and Axfood will purchase the clean energy at a low, fixed price for 12 years. The facility is expected to be operational in Q2-2024.
Axfood expects the deal to better hedge it against market volatility. Meanwhile, Alight will be able to invest in the project and add new renewable power capacity to the Swedish grid.
The solar park, which will be about 71 hectares, will deliver an expected annual production of about 63 GWh – equivalent to the electricity consumption of roughly 12,600 villas. This makes it three times larger than any solar park in Sweden at the estimated date of commissioning.
Axfood and Alight had originally investigated the possibility of building a solar park in the southern county of Skåne, but have now instead jointly chosen the area in Hallstavik due to the land’s low natural values. At the same time, the project will promote biodiversity by installing wood mould boxes, bat houses and sand beds for bees, among other things.
The park will also be Sweden’s first solar asset financed with a dedicated non-recourse debt facility – a type of financing used extensively to fund wind assets in the Nordic countries and solar assets in other parts of Europe.
“Alight has experienced a strong appetite among lenders to finance the company’s quickly growing pipeline of PPA-backed solar assets. While solar parks in Sweden have been historically financed with equity, the shift to debt financing signifies Sweden’s state of readiness for the next wave of major solar developments,” the press brief reads. “For the Hallstavik project, SEB, a leading northern European financial services group, will provide the debt financing.”
According to Harald Överholm, Alight’s CEO, the fact that this is the first time non-recourse project financing will be used to build a solar park in the country is an important milestone.
“This signifies a promising shift in the feasibility of renewable energy projects to come,” he said.
