Witnica/Munich, 31 August 2021: BayWa r.e. has announced the sale of its 64.6MWp solar farm in Witnica, Poland, to Irish incorporated company Alternus Energy Group.

The solar farm, located close to the German border between Poznan and Berlin, was completed earlier this year and is now connected to the grid. Witnica is Poland’s first subsidy-free, PPA-backed commercial-scale solar installation.

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“The successful commissioning of our Witnica solar farm marks a ground-breaking achievement for both BayWa r.e. and Poland as the country takes another important step on its journey towards sourcing more electricity from renewables,”  said Dr. Benedikt Ortmann, Global Director of Solar Projects at BayWa r.e.

“The sale to Alternus Energy aligns well with our goal of developing and selling additional solar capacity in Poland in future years and further highlights the attractiveness of renewable energy assets to investors.”

BayWa r.e. already has a solar farm pipeline of 600MWp across Poland and aims to have developed 1.1GW in the country over the next five years.

Speaking about the acquisition, Vincent Browne, Chairman and CEO of Alternus Energy: “We are delighted to mark our official entry into the Polish market with the acquisition of the Witnica solar park, the first subsidy free, PPA-backed utility-scale solar installation in Poland. We have plans for further expansion within the country over the next 12 months and hope to share updates on that shortly. It was a pleasure working with the BayWa r.e. team on this project and we look forward to future successful engagement with them across key markets.”

BayWa r.e. will continue to supply operations and maintenance services at the Witnica site for Alternus Energy.

At the beginning of 2021, BayWa r.e. announced the signing of a 10-year power purchase agreement (PPA) with Górazdze Cement S.A., the Polish subsidiary of HeidelbergCement Group.

The agreement marked a new era of clean and sustainable corporate energy sourcing, with the potential of serving as a blueprint for more PPA structures in Poland and beyond.