The construction of Sweden’s largest solar park is now ready to begin

The deal is signed and ready – the foundation works for Sweden’s largest solar park will begin shortly. The park will be located in the south of Sweden and will produce as much electricity as 2 300 households consume on a yearly basis.

In June this year, Swedbank signed a letter of intent with Alight (called Eneo Solutions at the time) to establish a solar park under a Power Purchase Agreement (also known as “PPA”). The PPA is now signed and the construction of Sweden’s largest solar park will soon begin.

“Through close cooperation with all involved parties, we now have all agreements in place and are ready to start the construction,” says Joar af Ekenstam, Head of Sales at Eneo.

The PPA details the financing, location and size of the park. The selected land, located just north of Linköping, will shortly be prepared. The first solar panels be installed by March 2020. In June 2020, the park is set to be up and running and produce solar electricity.

Alight will own the park and be responsible for the construction and maintenance. Infranode, a specialist infrastructure investor in the Nordics, finances the solar park.

“This project marks an important milestone in our partnership with Alight. We see a huge transformation towards more sustainable solutions in the energy sector and our societies. We want to contribute to the transformation via this collaboration”, says Carl-Emil Lindholm, Director and Country Lead for Sweden at Infranode.

The land selected for the solar park, located on the E4 highway next to the Gärstad plant, is about 13 hectares and owned by Tekniska verken.

“We are very proud that Linköping now will receive Sweden’s largest solar park,” says Charlotta Sund, CEO, Tekniska Verken. “We are building the world’s most resource-efficient region and therefore we must increase the availability of long-term sustainable energy solutions. Here solar energy plays an important role.”

The solar panels will have an installed capacity of roughly 12 MW. The expected annual production of solar electricity is approximately 11.5 GWh, comparable to the annual electricity consumption of 2 300 households (houses).

For Swedbank, the solar park is a way of actively adding new green electricity to the grid, while also inspiring other companies to make similar efforts in renewable energy and sustainability.

“We have said it before, but it is worth repeating: sustainability work is not a competition, everyone must contribute. We are of course hoping that other companies will make similar efforts in the future. To actively add new renewable capacity to the grid is an important part of the transition towards a sustainable energy system”, says Fredrik Nilzén, Head of Group Sustainability Swedbank.

A group of partners have contributed to Sweden’s largest solar cell park being built:

• Alight (previously Eneo) has developed the park and will own and manage it
• Swedbank is purchasing the produced electricity
• Infranode is funding the solar park
• Tekniska verken owns the land
• Newsec is Alight’s primary financial advisor