The UK may be famed for its lack of sunshine, but Aquila Capital, an alternative asset manager, has made a solar energy investment there with the purchase of a photovoltaic park.
At least the park, bought for an undisclosed sum, is near Bristol in the Southwest of England, where sunshine is more dependable. Also, the manufacturer of modules that are used in converting sunshine into electricity at the park, Solar Frontier, makes modules that are more suited to the UK climate.
Photovoltaic investments globally reached $149.6 billion last year (€136 billion), Aquila says, which was 25% higher than in 2013. The significant increase in growth was largely driven by the significant decrease in production costs of photovoltaic energy, resulting in increased competitiveness for the energy source.
The plant, located near Bristol, has an installed capacity of 7.2 MWp and was constructed by its seller and developer, New Energy for the World GmbH.
Boris Beltermann, head of solar and wind investments at Aquila Capital, says: “The UK has become one of the strongest-growing markets for photovoltaic energy in recent years. Its incentive schemes for renewable energy further strengthen the investment case for photovoltaic parks in the country.”
Aquila also has photovoltaic investments in Germany, France and Japan.
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