Hanwha’s European subsidiary to build solar plants in Germany

Wind turbines in France operated by Hanwha Solutions' European subsidiary Q Energy [HANWHA SOLUTIONS]

Q Energy, Hanwha Solutions’ European subsidiary, will build solar power plants with a combined capacity of 500-megawatts in Germany with Frankfurt-based Enviria, the company said Tuesday.

Established on July 1, Berlin-based Q Energy Solutions is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Hanwha Solutions specializing in renewable energy business in European regions. Under the holdings company Q Energy Solutions are Q Energy France, the company’s French subsidiary, and Q Energy Europe GmbH, which was formerly the European power plant business unit under Hanwha Q cells, a solar panel arm of Hanwha Solutions.

Q Energy Europe will carry out the joint projects with Enviria, according to Hanwha Solutions. Enviria is a German solar power company founded in 2017 that has already carried out over 100 projects.

The two companies will set up 38 solar energy plants in Germany with each unit's generation capacity varying from 2 to 70 megawatts. The combined capacity will amount to 500 megawatts, according to Hanwha Solutions.

Hanwha Solutions plans to tap into Enviria’s local networks to secure sites for solar power plants and acquire the government’s approval. It aims to build the plants by 2025, which will then either be sold to other operators or operated by Hanwha Solutions.

This marks Hanwha Solutions' biggest solar power project in Germany. Germany is the largest energy consumer in Europe according to energy research firm Enerdata, and the country plans to expand its renewable energy share among its energy mix from the current 40 percent to 80 percent by 2030.

"Europe is one of the fastest-growing renewable energy markets in the world,” said Chung Sang-chull, Q Energy CEO. “We will push forward various projects encompassing solar power, wind power and ESS[energy storage system] to become the general energy company leading the European market.”

Hanwha Solutions has been striving to expand its business in the European region. The company acquired Avignon-based RES France for 727 million euros ($728.7 million) last year, which was rebranded to Q Energy France, Q Energy Solutions’ French subsidiary. Since then, Hanwha Solutions has secured projects in Germany, France, Spain, Portugal and others with a combined capacity of 12 gigawatts, according to the company.

BY SHIN HA-NEE [shin.hanee@joongang.co.kr]