Parent Of European Retail Energy Marketer Acquires U.S. Renewables Platform, Enters Agreement With Another Developer

Naturgy, a multinational energy company based in Spain whose operations include retail energy marketing, has acquired 100% of the economic interests in Hamel Renewables, a solar and energy storage development platform in the United States.

The transaction represents Naturgy’s first investment in the U.S. renewable energy market

Hamel Renewables holds a portfolio of 8 GW solar projects together with 4.6 GW of energy storage projects spanning 9 states in the U.S, of which 25 projects totaling 3.2 GW of solar and 2 GW storage could be operational before 2026.

Naturgy plans to invest up to US$1.8bn over the next five years to reach an operational capacity of 1.85 GW of solar energy in 2025, while it also retains the option to develop the remaining pipeline adding up to 8 GW of solar energy projects until 2030.

As part of the transaction, Naturgy has also entered into a five-year development agreement with Candela Renewables, made up by former directors from First Solar, to enable the development of solar and energy storage projects exclusively for Naturgy. The partnership between Candela and Naturgy includes the formation of a new entity to own the pipeline

Candela said that the Hamel pipeline purchased by Naturgy includes 340 MWAC of solar and 50 MWAC / 200 MWh of co-located storage with executed or awarded PPAs across 3 projects and an additional 260 MWAC shortlisted or in bilateral negotiations.