WFW advises Blue Elephant on three PV PPAs with EnBW

Watson Farley & Williams has advised Blue Elephant Energy on the negotiation and execution of three power purchase agreements (PPAs) for PV projects in Spain with EnBW

The Hamburg-based operator of solar and wind power plants Blue Elephant Energy AG (BEE) and EnBW Energie Baden-Württemberg AG (EnBW) have entered into long-term power purchase agreements (PPAs) for a 150-megawatt solar park project in the Spanish region of Andalusia: the “Fotosfera”, “Kissoro” and “Sunplex” solar parks in Spain’s southeastern Granada province, each solar park with a total installed capacity of circa 50 MWp. Both parties have agreed not to disclose any details about the economic terms of the electricity price, which has been fixed for 10 years. The BEE project is already under construction. Grid connection of the solar power plants is scheduled for the second quarter of 2022.

The solar power plants are expected to generate around 315-gigawatt hours of eco-friendly electricity every year. That is enough solar energy to meet the annual electricity needs of around 95,000 households and reduce annual carbon emissions by about 96,000 metric tons.

“As EnBW’s trading division, we connect developers and operators of renewable power plants with the market with tailor-made products and services. We are pleased that we are now also able to contribute our expertise to the Spanish market,” explained Peter Heydecker, who is responsible for the trading division at EnBW. “With our long-standing experience on both the generating and trading side, we see good marketing opportunities in the Spanish wholesale market as well as for customer-specific solutions,” said Heydecker.

BEE also appreciates the advantages of having a broadly based partner in the energy industry: “In the rapidly growing market for green electricity, power purchase agreements secure predictable revenues and enable us to realize projects that are not government-funded. That is why we are pleased to realize our first unsubsidized solar power project in Spain together with EnBW while contributing to a sustainable and clean energy supply on the Iberian Peninsula,” said Tim Kallas, Chief Investment Officer of Blue Elephant Energy AG.

Blue Elephant acquires and operates solar parks and wind farms in eight countries with a focus on Western Europe. Founded in 2016, it currently operates a renewable energy portfolio of 1,107 MW which contributes to the supply of sustainable energy by saving 960,000 tons of CO2 annually and provides 711,000 households with clean energy.

The WFW Madrid office team advising Blue Elephant was led by Corporate partner Ana Lorenzo (pictured left) and Public Law partner David Díez (pictured right), supported by Corporate associate Juan Area. On issues relating to German Law the team was supported by a WFW Hamburg team led by Corporate partner Dr Wolfram Böge.