Marguerite to set up European solar development platform

European infrastructure investor Marguerite on Monday said it is launching a solar investment platform that will seek to create a portfolio of more than 2 GW of developed and in-development projects over the next six years.

The Luxembourg-based firm will invest up to EUR 60 million (USD 65.2m) from its latest fund, Marguerite III, in the platform.

The new company will develop greenfield photovoltaic (PV) projects in-house or together with local partners, focusing on European markets such as France, Spain, Italy, Germany, Austria and Poland. It may sometimes build the solar power plants before selling them to utilities or other investors.

The venture adds to an investment, through the Marguerite II fund, in independent power producer ZE Energy, which is active in solar-plus-storage assets across Europe.

The move comes in view of an expected accelerated solar market expansion in Europe given the EU emission reduction targets and the recent carbon and gas price rises, which lead to higher forward-looking electricity prices. In addition, solar projects can be developed faster than other renewables.

“The rationale behind our decision to invest in this platform was that this market benefits from high premiums for ready-to-build assets, and an agile approach is critical to respond quickly to changes in market conditions and take advantage of new opportunities as they arise,” comments Guillaume Rivron, partner at Marguerite.

The platform will be led by renewables executives Josef Kastner and Chloe Durieux.

(EUR 1 = USD 1.087)

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