Shell to purchase 100MW of solar farms from Anesco

Shell is to purchase 100MW of solar farms currently being developed by Anesco.

Over the past 18 months, Anesco has worked to develop the four sites in North Wales, Chester, South Northamptonshire and North Lincolnshire, which are all now in the final stages of planning.

Following the acquisition by Shell, the energy generated by the sites will be supplied to UK customers through power purchase agreements (PPAs).

“Shell is building a business that spans the generation, trading and supply of clean energy to homes and businesses here in the UK,” said Lukas Fleming, head of onshore power, Shell UK.

“Acquisition of these four solar energy projects from Anesco will mean we can help meet more of the growing demand for renewable power from our UK customers.”

The acquisition builds on the companies’ previous relationship, having collaborated on a battery energy storage plant at Shell’s Bacton gas terminal site in Norfolk and Anesco having developed the third in a trio of Shell’s solar farms in the Netherlands; a 12MWp array in Emmen, a 14MWp solar farm in Friesland and a 30MWp solar installation in Sas Van Gent.

Anesco has been expanding its pipeline at pace during 2022, with 600MW of new solar and storage projects at the planning and ready-to-build stage as of March.

This includes a number that will be sold to Gresham House through a 200MW ground mount solar development and construction partnership, which was signed in January 2021. Three sites within this segment were approved in March, the 10MW High Meadow 2 site, the 25MW Moat Farm site and a 20MW development in Cambridgeshire.

At the time of these approvals, Anesco noted that it expected to sign several more partnerships in 2022, as interest in the company's end-to-end capabilities “continues to grow among investors”.

Since it was established in 2010, Anesco has developed more than 100 solar farms and 30 battery storage facilities, as well as its O&M arm having more than 24,0000 renewable assets under management.

The agreement with Anesco builds on Shell signing a framework agreement with renewable energy developer Island Green Power in October 2021 to develop solar PV projects with co-located battery storage potential. They are targeting 700MW of capacity.