Sunly secures €66 million for the construction of solar parks in Poland
Sunly, an independent power producer operating in the Baltics and Poland, has secured a €65.9 million senior non-recourse project financing from mBank, for the development of solar parks with a total capacity of 98 MW. In 2023, the company launched a 60 MW solar park in Rzezawa, near Kraków – one of the largest solar farms in Poland. It has been refinanced together with all of Sunly’s operating assets in Poland as a part of this transaction.
Founded in 2019 in Estonia and backed by Mirova and EBRD, Sunly is an independent renewable energy developer and producer, that has been on a fast track when it comes to developing and constructing solar and wind parks in cooperation with local communities. The company has already launched facilities capable of producing 164 MW of clean energy per annum, in Estonia, Latvia, and Poland.
Sunly has been present in Poland since 2019 when it started cooperation with Alseva, a leading developer and EPC contractor for large-scale PV farms in Poland. The companies merged in 2022 and have been pioneering the development of solar parks in the local market, with a unique in-house capability across the entire life cycle of its projects, including development, design, construction, maintenance, and asset management.
Today, Sunly Group’s portfolio includes projects with 164 MW operational, 167 MW are under construction, and the target for 2024 ready-to-build is 1500 MW. The largest operating solar park is “Rzezawa 60”, located near Kraków. With a capacity of 60 MW and an annual average energy yield of 65,000 MWh, the park can cover the annual energy needs of a city with 80,000 inhabitants, like Nowy Sącz, supplying approx. 30,000 households, as well as urban infrastructure.
At the turn of 2023/2024, Sunly Group secured a loan of €65.9 million from mBank to implement renewable energy projects in Poland. The financing will be used to construct 58 photovoltaic farms with a total capacity of about 98 MW. Most of them will be located in the south of Poland, in the provinces of Małopolska, Opole, Podkarpackie, Silesia, and Świętokrzyskie, but individual installations are also planned in other regions. The transaction also includes refinancing of Sunly’s earlier investments in Poland, including the construction of the “Rzezawa 60” farm.
The €65.9 million loan from mBank will help construct even more solar parks in Poland. Sunly will use it to roll out 58 projects, with a total capacity of approx. 98 MW. Most of them will be located in the south of Poland, in Małopolskie, Opolskie, Śląskie, and Świętokrzyskie Voivodships, but individual installations are also planned in other regions.
“Sunly stands out in the Polish renewable energy market as a company that not only comprehensively deals with the design and construction of PV plants in the EPC model, but also operates and services them while being an independent green energy producer. Thanks to financing from mBank, we can carry out further photovoltaic farm projects, which are a crucial part of shaping a zero-emission energy production system and increasing the energy security of our country,” says Marek Motyl, Country Manager of Sunly in Poland.
“From the outset, Poland has been a highly attractive market for us. It’s already the second-largest renewables market in the European Union, with significant growth potential. Industry forecasts suggest that within the next three years, installed capacity is expected to double, and Sunly aims to contribute substantially to this growth. In the coming years, we plan to build solar farms and wind power plants together with battery storage in Poland and the Baltics with a total capacity of 4.6 GW. We are thrilled to have Polish partners like mBank on board, who recognize the potential of the renewable energy market and its importance to Polish energy consumers,” says Priit Lepasepp, founder and CEO of Sunly.
“As mBank we are strongly committed to developing green energy in Poland. We are very pleased to pursue this objective with partners like Sunly – developing regional strategy in the renewable energy sector and showing strong track record both in respect to project development as well as fundraising,” says Tomasz Niewola, Head of Structured Finance in mBank.
During the last capital raise completed in 2023, Sunly secured approximately €200 million from its existing investors, the French fund Mirova, and from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), to develop and construct solar and wind parks in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland.
Sunly is periodically raising various types of capital to finance its investment opportunities. Currently, Sunly is open to raising financing from banks and professional debt and equity investors/funds.