Alight, Neoen sign largest PPA in Sweden

French renewable energy developer Neoen and Swedish solar developer Alight have revealed that they have secured Sweden’s largest power purchase agreement to date.

The two companies have agreed to sell power to Swedish clothing retailer H&M Group from a 90 MW solar plant now under development in Hultsfred, Kalmar county, in southern Sweden.

Construction is expected to begin in the second half of 2023. Alight said it will use solar panels with a low carbon footprint from an undisclosed manufacturer for the project. The project will be commissioned by 2025.

“This is our first PPA in Sweden and our ninth in the Nordics. Our long-term contracts in the region include now almost half a gigawatt of renewable energy,” said Neoen CEO, Xavier Barbaro.

In December 2021, Alight signed a five-year PPA for an 18 MW solar park with Swedish restaurant group Martin & Servera. In June 2021, it signed a 10-year deal for an 8 MW solar park it wants to build at an unspecified location in southern Sweden. To date, it has closed more than 50 PPAs in Sweden.

Sweden could potentially add 750 MW of solar in 2022, according to research firm Becquerel Sweden. In 2021, the country added 499.7 MW of solar, up by about 25% year on year from 2020. Some unsubsidized projects are already under development in the country and their current growth in popularity is likely connected to generally favorable conditions for solar.