Centrus advises Pennon on acquisition of four solar PV projects and co-located battery storage

Transaction Overview

• Pennon is a FTSE 250 London-listed utility, providing clean and wastewater services across Southwest England.
• Pennon is committed to reducing operational carbon emissions and is targeting 50% of its energy demand to be supplied by renewable energy sources.
• Pennon acquired four fully-consented ready-to-build solar PV farms with a  combined capacity of 144MWp (99MWac) across the UK from two developers in separate transactions.
• The investment includes one co-located 2-hour battery energy storage system with 30MW / 60MWh installed capacity.
  

Centrus Role

Centrus acted as both the financial and commercial advisor to Pennon which included:

• Identifying strategic acquisition opportunities for Pennon Plc.
• Financial valuation modelling for solar and co-located battery.
• Commercial negotiations from drafting of NBO to financial close.
• Assessing different PPA and BESS optimiser strategies.
• Coordination of stakeholders and process towards a successful close in an efficient and timely manner.
• Embedded team acting as an extended arm of Pennon.
  

Outcome

• Centrus successfully supported Pennon in financially valuing transactions to achieve required internal returns and placing Pennon ahead of the competition to obtain exclusivity.
• Achieved close on 4 fully consented ready-to-build solar PV farms and one co-located BESS.
• Developed a bespoke solar and battery model which underpinned Pennon’s commercial strategy.

“Centrus has been an integral and highly valued part of our project evaluation and acquisition team. Their technical and commercial skills have been central in ensuring that we have identified the right assets and have had a plan to build out and commercialise those assets on the right terms.”

Peter Rayner, CDO – Pennon Group Plc

“Delighted to support Pennon accelerate their goal to Net Zero through the acquisition of four UK solar projects and one co-located battery enabling them to significantly address the energy and sustainability challenges faced by the water sector”.

David Craig, Director – Centrus

For more information, please contact David Craig.

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