Norwegian power giant Statkraft has bought Glasgow-based renewable energy developer Airvolution Clean Energy in a deal which it said would herald significant expansion of its team in Scotland.
Airvolution has been working with the Norwegian company since 2017 to secure onshore wind projects in Scotland and Statkraft said the deal is in line with its ambitions to deploy 600MW of onshore wind and solar generation in the UK by 2025, with a further 600MW in development.
Richard Mardon, CEO of Airvolution, said: “This acquisition is a clear and powerful endorsement of our strong performance over the past two years.
“The UK policy changes of 2015 resulted in great uncertainty in the sector, and I’m proud that with an enormous amount of hard work and determination we have been able to adapt and continue to deliver quality projects.”
Statkraft said Airvolution’s Glasgow office will double in size after the acquisition with new recruits being taken on from next month. Terms of the acquisition have not been disclosed.
“We have been very impressed with what Airvolution have achieved in a relatively short period of time through our development partnership for Scottish onshore wind projects. Bringing the team in-house is a natural progression of that partnership, significantly strengthening our ability to deliver against our ambitious targets for the UK” says David Flood, managing director of Statkraft UK.
Current projects Airvolution is involved with include proposals to extend Statkraft’s Berry Burn wind farm in Moray and plans for a wind farm near Melvich in Sutherland.
Statkraft’s acquisition of Airvolution Clean Energy strengthens Statkraft’s position in the UK following its acquisition of Element Power’s UK and Ireland interests in late 2018.
