aream Press release

aream Group SE, a leading European investment and asset manager focused on sustainable infrastructure, has completed the sale of two regulated, fully operational solar photovoltaic (PV) plants located in the province of Badajoz, Spain, to a fund managed by Merus Capital. The assets were held through investment vehicles managed by aream Group. aream was advised by PwC as M&A advisor and Jones Day as legal advisor.

A heatwave, rising demand for cooling, peak load: according to conventional market logic, the price of electricity in Germany should have risen sharply in the current situation. Gas-fired power stations are on standby in such situations – at prices of 600 to 800 euros per megawatt-hour. “But the market told a different story”, says Patrick Lemcke-Braselmann, CEO of the aream Group. “During the day, the day-ahead price remained well below 100 euros.” The reason: solar power took on a large share of the load before the gas-fired power stations were even needed.

Three European markets – three strengths in the expansion of renewable energy: Italy offers predictability through state guarantees, Spain stands out for its structural decoupling from gas, and Germany impresses with its market maturity and scale. “The key to success remains flexibility: storage, grid contribution and appropriate market design,” comments Patrick Lemcke-Braselmann, CEO of the aream Group.

Tensions in the Middle East are not only keeping the stock markets on tenterhooks. Germans, too, are worried, particularly about rising energy prices. “If we needed any further reason to accelerate the expansion of renewable energy, we have it now”, says Andreas Ehrbar, Chief Operating Officer of the aream Group.