Rabbalshede Kraft joins Neova’s nine renewable energy park projects with 50% stake
Vapo Terra Oy, a wholly owned subsidiary of Neova Oy, and the Swedish company Rabbalshede Kraft AB have signed a cooperation agreement based on which Rabbalshede Kraft will take a 50% stake in nine projects of Vapo Terra’s current renewable energy production project portfolio.
Rabbalshede Kraft is a company established in 2005 specializing in the development of green energy and also financing and operating of these projects. Rabbalshede Kraft’s turnover in 2023 was EUR 36 million. Since 2005, Rabbalshede Kraft has invested in excess of EUR 400 million into these projects. Currently the annual energy production of renewable energy assets owned by Rabbalshede Kraft is about 1.1 TWh.
In the signed agreement for joint development of the projects, Vapo Terra’s role is to develop the projects until fully permitted and ready for construction, after which Rabbalshede Kraft will further develop and bring the projects to final investment decision. After investment decision Rabbalshede Kraft’s will acquire 100% of the project in question and begin construction and remain as the long-term owner of the project itself and to remain producing electricity in the role of the project owner. Vapo Terra’s strategy is to withdraw from projects before construction starts.
Within the portfolio of projects, four are hybrid park projects suitable for co-development of solar and wind power production, and five are sites suitable for solar power production only. The combined nominal capacity of the projects is up to 1.4 GW of solar and wind power. The largest project is the Kairineva solar and wind power park, currently with a planned nominal capacity of approximately 200 MW of solar power and 160 MW of wind power.
The projects are located in different parts of Finland and include Neova’s own land ownership of around 2,400 hectares. The land areas planned especially for the production of solar power in the projects are largely located in old peat harvesting areas of Neova, while land areas for the hybrid park projects include land leased from both Neova directly as well as third parties.
According to Markus Tykkyläinen, the Deputy CEO of Neova Oy, the signed agreement is a significant opening for a completely new business in the Neova Group. “We have invested in project development for several years and I am happy that we were able to conclude a cooperation agreement for this first project basket. We believe in long-term work and we have new sites coming into the construction phase all the time. We have mapped the suitability of the lands we own for the production of renewable energy and we have reserved more than 10,000 hectares of the lands we own for these purposes. Finland has been recognized as an attractive region for solar and wind power projects due to Finland’s strong electricity grid and extensive land areas suitable for renewable energy. The cooperation agreement concluded now was the first of its kind for us, but certainly not the last”, says Tykkyläinen.
The signed cooperation agreement follows the renewable energy project development strategy confirmed by the Board of Neova. Neova develops the projects to the construction phase and then seeks an executor for the projects and remains in the projects itself in the role of landowner. “The concluded agreement has a slightly positive effect on the current year’s result. The most important thing is the opening of a new business area, from which we get cash flow both for the project development of new renewable energy projects and for our other development projects, with which we aim to expand the business operations of our new high value added products. In the case of new solar and wind power projects, we especially study how we can combine energy production with e.g. wetland farming or carbon sequestration in its various forms”, says Tykkyläinen.
“We always take a long-term position in our projects, and we will continue to do so regardless of where in the world we are established. We are pleased to take the next step into the Finnish market in this way and look forward to a long and good co-operation with Vapo Terra and all other stakeholders in the projects. By increasing the production of solar and wind power, while terminating peat harvesting early in three project areas and restoring land previously used for peat harvesting we are reducing carbon dioxide emissions and thus contributing to Finland’s energy transition. We are very happy to do so”, says Peter Wesslau, CEO of Rabbalshede Kraft.
“We always work closely with landowners, municipalities, and businesses to create long-term, responsible solutions that benefit the climate. This is a new area for us, so it has been crucial to secure that independent experts will help us determine how to best take care of the land while increasing the amount of renewable energy”, says Katharina Strömseng, Head of Sustainability at Rabbalshede Kraft.
More information:
- Markus Tykkyläinen, Deputy CEO, Neova Oy, tel. +358 50 596 5482
- Lauri Alanen, Director, Wind and Solar Power Development, Neova Oy,
tel. +358 50 379 3578 - Ahti Martikainen, Director, Communications and Public Affairs, Neova Oy,
tel. +358 40 680 4723
