Norway-based energy company Equinor announced today an agreement to acquire Danish solar developer, BeGreen, in a move aimed at strengthening Equinor’s capabilities and portfolio within solar PV.

Currently part of the Bregentved Group, BeGreen has been developing and building solar parks in Denmark, without the use of public subsidies since 2019. To date, the company has fully developed, sold and delivered solar PV capacity of more than 700 MW, and has established a project pipeline in early to medium stages of maturity of over 6 GW in Denmark, Sweden and Poland, with an average project size of 300 MW.

In 2021, Equinor announced its transition strategy including major investments in renewable energy capacity, with gross expected investments of around $23 billion from 2021 to 2026.

Anders Dolmer, CEO, BeGreen, said:

“Equinor and BeGreen share the same ambition, and we are both aiming for the highest standards for ESG and integrity. We want to expand solar energy as an inexpensive, stable and secure sustainable energy source contributing to making Europe independent on energy supply.”

Following the acquisition, BeGreen will be a fully owned Equinor subsidiary, and the current team and management will continue developing solar PV projects. Equinor stated that it expects the project portfolio to deliver within Equinor’s expected range of 4-8% real base project return for renewables projects, including the acquisition price.

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

“The BeGreen acquisition is an example of how we selectively enter attractive markets through established companies characterized by high quality teams, proven track records and strong project pipelines.”

The acquisition follows the launch last year by Equinor of its energy transition strategy, including major investments in renewable energy capacity, with gross expected investments of around $23 billion from 2021 to 2026.

Pål Eitrheim, Executive Vice President for Renewables at Equinor, said:

“BeGreen represents an important building block to our industrial renewables position in Europe, in line with our ambition to be a leading company in the energy transition. BeGreen has a proven track record as a solar developer and a strong project pipeline in attractive power markets. For Equinor, this is a step to deliver on our aim of being a market-driven power producer.”