A UK fund has acquired Nissan's latest solar power project in a £10.6m deal that will see the car maker purchase power generated over a 20-year agreement.
Atrato Onsite Energy, a specialist fund set up last year to focus on rooftop solar power installations, announced the deal to its shareholders saying it would take over the building of 20MW ground-mounted system that will eventually comprise about 37,000 solar panels. The project is a major part of Nissan's EV36Zero strategy to ramp up production of electric vehicles and is expected to create about 20% of the power needed for the Sunderland plant.
This latest deal will see Atrato - which uses the stock symbol ROOF and trades on the London Stock Exchange - complete the installation next to the Sunderland plant and then sell power generated to the manufacturer on a 100% take-or-pay basis.
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Nissan set up Hylton Plantation Solar Farm Limited to deliver the scheme, which secured planning permission late last year, and has promised further solar capacity in the years ahead. It is part of £13bn plans to develop electric vehicles at the North East plant.
Gurpreet Gujral, managing director of Atrato Partners, the investment adviser to the company, said: "I'm very pleased to announce this transaction, which brings a great installation project into ROOF's portfolio. We are working closely with the UK automotive industry to deliver further green energy initiatives and to help them on their path to net zero.
"This is one of the largest private wire solar projects in the UK and is a great example of how major UK manufacturers can benefit from ROOF's low cost, traceable clean energy."
Atrato was set up last year as an investment company focused on onsite or 'private wire' clean energy generation for business - typically rooftop installation. It raised £150m in its float on the London Stock Exchange in November 2021. Atrato Partners Limited - the company's investment adviser - is also behind the grocery market real estate fund Supermarket Income.
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