Hanwha Solutions acquires renewable energy developer RES France

A wind farm developed by RES. (Hanwha Solutions)

Hanwha Solutions said Monday it has acquired a 100 percent stake in renewable energy developer RES France at 727 million euros ($855.2 million) to expand its business portfolio in Europe.

With the deal, led by the company’s green energy division Hanwha Q Cells, Hanwha Solutions will hold full ownership of RES France’s solar and wind power projects worth 5 gigawatts.

“The acquisition, which will be finalized by October, will increase the global capacity of Hanwha Solutions’ clean energy projects to 15 GW from the current 10 GW. Hanwha Solutions will be able to achieve economies of scale by supplying its solar modules to projects in Europe, as 10 GW is concentrated in the region,” a company official said.

After completion, Hanwha Solutions will retrieve investments by selling off those projects. DB Financial Investment estimates 700 billion won to 800 billion won per gigawatt.

“In France, it takes five to seven years from getting a license to completing a renewable energy facility. Also, transactions of projects are rare, so it’s difficult for new players to enter the market. For Hanwha Solutions, RES France is the perfect partner,” the company official said.

Hanwha Q Cells, which has a European office in Germany, will take France as the second local base to target Europe, which aims to raise the ratio of renewable energy to 40 percent of final consumption by 2030.

By Kim Byung-wook(kbw@heraldcorp.com)