Press release

Cero Generation strengthens its leading position in the European renewables market by taking full ownership of Nara Solar, purchasing Univergy Solar’s 50% stake.

• Cero Generation has purchased Univergy Solar’s 50% stake in Nara Solar, making Cero the sole owner of the European solar developer.
• In 2019, Cero and Univergy Solar created Nara Solar as a 50:50 joint venture.
• Headquartered in Madrid, Nara Solar specialises in the development of utility scale early-stage photovoltaic solar energy projects, operating across Spain, France, and The Netherlands.
• Cero will bring Nara’s pipeline under direct control within its existing portfolio, supporting Cero’s ambitious growth plans and cementing its position as a leading player in the European renewables market.
• The sale will allow Univergy Solar to strengthen its Group financial structure and continue with the implementation of its strategic plan.

Cero Generation (Cero), a leading European specialist in solar energy development, production, and storage, has become the sole owner of Nara Solar.

Nara Solar, a developer specialising in utility scale early-stage photovoltaic solar energy projects, operating across Europe, was launched in 2019 as a 50:50 joint venture between Cero and Univergy Solar (Univergy). Today, Cero has taken full ownership of Nara Solar, purchasing Univergy’s 50% shareholding in the company to bring it under direct control within the Cero portfolio.

This is a key strategic acquisition for Cero, which continues to rapidly expand its growing portfolio – currently over 11GW – and its geographical reach. With Nara Solar’s portfolio including 1GW of solar in development and an early-stage pipeline of over 1GW, spanning Spain, France and The Netherlands, the transaction reflects Cero’s growth and position as a leading player in the European renewables industry.

The acquisition will bring together two teams of professionals with extensive market expertise and a shared mission of driving forward Europe’s transition to net-zero.

Univergy, a company specialising in the development of solar, wind, green hydrogen and BESS projects, has a solid track record proven by long term global partnerships.

Marta Martinez Queimadelos, CEO of Cero Generation, said: “We are delighted to welcome Nara Solar fully into Cero, having worked with the brilliant team at Univergy to create this thriving platform, and seeing it go from strength to strength since its launch in 2019. This transaction is an important achievement for Cero, reflecting our prominent role in the European renewables market, and it enables us to continue to grow our sizeable pipeline and portfolio.

We warmly welcome Nara Solar’s employees into the Cero group, who I know have complementary strengths and shared values. We are united in our vision of creating a sustainable future, and together we can achieve greater impact and make a substantial contribution to Europe’s journey to net zero.”

Yago Acon, CEO of Nara Solar, said: “From our inception we have grown extensively due to our relentlessly innovative and experienced team. We’ve always had great ambitions for Nara Solar and now we are excited to step into this next phase, bolstering our expertise and extending our reach as part of the Cero group. We’re joining a company that is leading the solar transition across Europe, allowing us to now grow and deliver more impactful clean energy projects.”

Ignacio Blanco, President and CEO of Univergy Solar, said: “Today, Univergy is reaching a very important milestone for its stakeholders, with special mention to all our people. The proceeds resulting from the Nara sale will allow us to strengthen the Group’s financial structure and continue with the implementation of our strategic plan. It has been a real privilege to work shoulder to shoulder with Cero and all the professionals in Nara in such a successful alliance throughout all these years.

Univergy will keep working to be a driving force and part of the energy transition by developing, building and operating projects on consolidated markets with the aim of decarbonizing the economy.”

ENDS

Media enquiries contact:

Cero Generation: cero@standagency.com

Notes to editors

About Cero Generation

Cero Generation is a leading specialist in solar energy development, production and storage, accelerating the delivery of a net-zero future across Europe.

Powered by an experienced team that brings world-class industry, commercial, engineering and environmental expertise to its projects, Cero is active through every stage of the lifecycle, from planning and construction to operation.  It works closely with local development partners, suppliers and stakeholders to deliver high-impact projects that positively benefit the environment and community.

Cero is an independent portfolio company of Macquarie Asset Management’s Green Investment Group (GIG), operating on a standalone basis.

www.cerogeneration.com/

About Univergy Solar

Univergy Solar is a leading vertically integrated developer of solar, wind, green hydrogen and BESS projects. It was founded in 2012 and has a strong international presence focused on the safest and most attractive geographies for renewable energies. Its reference markets are in Europe, Asia-Pacific and Latin America.

Univergy manages a pipeline of over 10 GW in various stages of development. The Company success is based on a team of specialised professionals with extensive experience and an agile organisation focused on quality and strong commitment to all stakeholders.

www.univergysolar.com/en/

About Nara Solar

Nara Solar is a European company developing large-scale photovoltaic solar energy projects. The company was born from the synergy between Cero Generation and Univergy International, in a 50:50 Joint Venture format, with the objective of operating as a platform for the development of solar projects in Europe based in Spain, France and Holland.

www.narasolar.com/en/

The need to carry out a transition to renewable energies has shown that we have an obligation to manage our resources efficiently. There are very specific examples, such as agrovoltaic solar energy, which represents an opportunity to make the most of resources as much as possible.

Agrovoltaic solar energy was born as a way to install solar panels without affecting the quality of the soil, taking advantage of the surface to cultivate and in the process favoring biodiversity. It is also a perfect fusion between two processes that are perfectly compatible and mutually benefit.

NARA SOLAR AND THE GRENCH AGROVOLTAIC ASSOCIATION

Nara Solar France, developer of large renewable projects throughout Europe and, since 2019, a member of the French Renewable Energies Union has joined the France Agrovoltaic Association. A news that we are pleased to announce.

“Our organization, Nara Solar, already participated in different commissions such as those of technologies or labels within the agrovoltaic organization; For this reason, now that the development of projects with dual land use, with the introduction of agricultural or livestock activities on land used to produce renewable energy, is on the rise, we wanted to take the step”, comments Rodolphe de Téglassy, Director of Development from Nara Solar France.

According to studies, the opportunities posed by agrivoltaics for agriculture and the energy transition have meant that in recent years the technology has been greatly developed and, therefore, agrivoltaics projects have multiplied in all regions of the world. Proof of this is that in leading countries in renewable energies such as China, these types of installations have acquired special relevance.

Nara Solar, for its part, has extensive experience developing projects of this type. As Yago Acón, General Director of

Nara Solar points out: The implementation of this type of projects with dual use of the land results in a positive impact from the local socioeconomic point of view, which is why the development of agrovoltaic plants is already one of the central axes of Nara Solar’s strategy, also in Spain and the Netherlands. ”.

For this reason, Nara Solar can celebrate that the French Agrovoltaic Association has decided to take the leap and trust in its experience and quality guarantee. For the company, this means progress in the right direction and a boost for the activity it develops.

It is also a smart bet because agrovoltaics take advantage of surfaces while increasing the efficiency of both processes. On the one hand, the production of solar energy grows, by reducing the temperature of the panels while these, on the other hand, act as a barrier to adverse weather effects, protecting crops.

Perhaps for this reason, agrovoltaics continues to gain followers. It is also likely that the large number of reports that have been made on this technique -which was developed in 1981 but did not become popular until 2012- have influenced the consolidation of the idea that this type of installation allows optimizing the performance of the soil.

In short, with the integration of Nara Solar in this organization, everything indicates that more projects of this type will soon arrive for its division in France. Something that has been received very positively.

Renewable energy is becoming a key power generation source, specially for a clean energy transition. And, therefore, for the future of the whole economy.

In this context, renewables have grown in importance exponentially during the last years, with the goal of achieving climate goals established during the Paris Summit in 2015. Next, a regulatory framework was tried to be built and also the application of an energy policy that the rest of the countries tried to achieve.

NARA SOLAR BECOMES A MEMBER OF HOLLAND SOLAR

Nara Solar started its activity in Europe, with a portfolio of projects in Spain, France and Netherlands; countries in which it has entrenched as a referrer in the development of large solar power plants. A sector which, by the way, is constantly growing and has a huge potential of progression.

“In the Netherlands, more precisely, our organization counts on a solar portfolio of more than 200 MW, comprising projects at different stages of development. Our goal is to keep developing projects which will have a positive local impact by applying our expertise and know-how in order to achieve the decarbonization goals of the country”, says Yago Acón, CEO of Nara Solar.

As Acon points out, the Netherlands is a country committed to sustainability and environmental care and where the deployment of renewables has been carried out progressively but surely. The European market has always offered great opportunities and Nara Solar has a market foothold, thanks to its focus on excellence.

Thanks to that, Nara Solar has recently become a new full active member at Holland Solar, the deutch solar association. An issue which, from the organization result of the collaboration between the hispanic-japanese enterprise Univergy International and the Investment Fund Macquaire International, have been celebrated.

Holland Solar operates in all the deutsch territory, in which it reports a whole set of solar installations, with the goal of bringing photovoltaic energy to the country and  turning it into the main energy source of the country.

It is, therefore, a key organization in the country because it’s found in the center of decision making in the deutch solar sector and it steers the agenda regarding legislation, regulations and subsidies.

Also, being a trade association, Holland Solar works with its members to inspire, inform, connect and further professionalize the Dutch solar energy sector.

Nara Solar has been developing its plants all over the world since 2019. These range from large-scale projects to those known as agrivoltaic.

The energy sector has become strategic for any country, as it is necessary to transform the conventional generation model into one based on clean energy. In the European context, the European Commission’s roadmap with the objective of reducing emissions by 55% by 2030 and becoming neutral by 2050 shows that the economy must evolve towards sustainable models.

VIABLE, QUALITY SOLAR PROJECTS WITH A POSITIVE SOCIAL IMPACT

Nara Solar is dedicated precisely to renewables, specifically to the creation and development of large-scale solar projects. In Europe, where it initially began with a portfolio of projects in Spain, France and the Netherlands, Nara Solar has a presence in both offices and equipment. The sector in which they work is experiencing a continuous growth in demand for this type of project. Their approach is to develop these solar assets to a high cross-cutting quality standard in order to provide viable solar projects that comply with all current regulations and legislation and also have a positive impact.

“We must understand the development needs of the projects in their local context, involving the main stakeholders who benefit from the development and construction of these types of plants. Beyond the seasonalities of the economy and the terrible times we live in today, the ultimate goal of restoring the health of our planet, to ensure our livelihood, cannot be postponed. This makes our projects even more important because, thanks to the work we are doing today, clean energy projects will be possible in the coming years”, explains Yago Acón Raspall, CEO of the company.

In Spain they currently have projects throughout the Spanish mainland and the Canary Islands. These are multi-megawatt complexes that occupy large areas of land and can generate energy on a large scale and feed it into the national distribution or transmission grid. In France, in turn, they are working on projects that promote dual land use, or what is known as agrivoltaica, projects designed in such a way that they can simultaneously generate solar energy and agricultural or livestock activity.

“These projects allow the land to be used for animal husbandry or for agricultural cultivation of plants that can grow in less sunny conditions under the solar panels. In the Netherlands, the projects we are working on are realised under a subsidy scheme for power generation from renewable energies (SDE++ scheme) using various technologies. At Nara, we are focusing on ground-mounted and floating solar technology on water surfaces, as the Netherlands has an enormous water potential and a very extensive network of canals and lakes,” says the head of Nara Solar.

All of this has led LA RAZÓN to award them the prize for the New European Solar Development Platform.

“This award recognises the work of our team in the countries where we are active. They have achieved our growth by carrying out projects in an innovative way. They have managed to realise initiatives that help to achieve the decarbonisation goals of our energy generation model. We have grown much more than we expected, even in our most optimistic projections, and this is the result of the human component, because we obviously like what we do and we are proud of our work”, says Acón.

Reproduction of a report in the newspaper La Razón published on 18 May 2021 following the award of the prize for the new solar development platform. (https://suplementoslarazon.s3.eu-west-3.amazonaws.com/Otros/2021-05-18_PREMIOS-2021-SOSTENIBILIDAD-Y-MEDIO-AMBIENTE/index.html).