Equinor Acquires Solar Developer BeGreen

Equinor, a Norwegian energy firm, announced today an agreement to purchase Danish solar developer BeGreen, a move designed to expand Equinor's solar PV capabilities and portfolio.

Since 2019, BeGreen, a subsidiary of the Bregentved Group, has been developing and constructing solar parks in Denmark without using public subsidies. To date, the firm has fully developed, sold, and delivered more than 700 MW of solar PV power, and has established a project pipeline in the early to middle stages of maturity in Denmark, Sweden, and Poland with an average project size of 300 MW.

From 2021 to 2026, Equinor expects to invest around $23 billion in renewable energy capacity as part of its transition strategy, which was unveiled in 2021 and includes large investments in renewable energy capacity.

Anders Dolmer, CEO of BeGreen, said:

"Equinor and BeGreen have the same goals, and we both seek the highest ESG and integrity standards. We wish to expand solar energy as an economical, stable, and secure renewable energy source that will contribute to Europe's energy independence."

BeGreen will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Equinor following the acquisition, and the present team and management will continue to build solar PV projects. Equinor indicated that it anticipates the project portfolio to generate a real base project return of 4-8%, including the acquisition price, for renewable energy projects.

Olav Kolbeinstveit, Senior Vice President for Power and Markets at Equinor's Renewables, added:

"The BeGreen purchase shows how we enter promising markets by buying established companies with high-quality teams, proven track records, and strong project pipelines,"

The acquisition followed Equinor's introduction of its energy transition strategy last year, which included large investments in renewable energy capacity and gross expected investments of around $23 billion from 2021 to 2026.

Executive Vice President for Renewables at Equinor, Pl Eitrheim, stated:

"BeGreen is a crucial pillar of our industrial renewables position in Europe, in keeping with our aspiration to be a market leader in the energy transformation. BeGreen has a track record of success as a solar developer and a robust pipeline of projects in attractive electricity markets. This is a step towards Equinor's goal of becoming a market-driven power producer.