China Three Gorges Europe (CTGE) has reached an agreement to acquire a portfolio of 500 MW of solar PV power plants in Spain.

This agreement has been reached between CTGE and X-ELIO, a global organisation specialising in the development, operation and maintenance of solar PV energy projects.

The power plants acquired by CTGE are new developments constructed between 2019 and 2020 and will enhance CTGE’s presence in Europe.

The agreement indicates a growing interest from international investors in the Spanish energy market, due to the quality of assets, an interesting business landscape, and a favourable legal framework.

The transaction is still pending on customary regulatory approvals and is expected to be completed in the second half of 2020.

Spanish based company X-ELIO remains committed to growing its presence in its home market. After this agreement, the company will maintain over 2,000MW throughout different solar projects in different stages of development.

Wu Shengliang, chairman of CTGE, said: “This represents a landmark transaction for CTG, as solar PV is a strategic pillar of our strategy and representing our first direct investment in Spain. We believe Spain is the biggest solar market and we are happy and willing to contribute to the energy transition in Spain. We are excited to complete this transaction with X-ELIO, which has a global presence, and will consider future opportunities to grow our platforms.”

Lluis Noguera, X-ELIO’s CEO, said: “We are very pleased to announce this agreement with China Three Gorges Europe. They are one of the largest operators of power plants in the world. The Spanish Government’s renewable objectives are going to be critical to revitalize the Spanish economy through jobs creation and improvement of the competitiveness of energy costs after the current COVID-19 crisis. These policies are clearly increasing the appetite from top tier international power generation investors like CTGE. X-ELIO will continue developing solar projects in Spain like we have been doing for 15 years when we connected our first power plant in Murcia.”

China Three Gorges Europe is part of CTG Group, which is the largest clean energy group in China and the largest hydropower enterprise in the world, with a consolidated installed capacity of over 75GW.