Alina Oprea • 22 November, 2023 at 3:31 PM
nextE, a renewable energy company operating as an Independent Energy Producer (IPP), has announced the completion of a €4.8 million investment in a photovoltaic power plant whose beneficiary is RAAL. RAAL is a manufacturer of cooling systems and heat exchangers made of aluminum alloys and stainless steel, with a turnover of 389.29 million lei in 2022. The total annual production of green energy is estimated at 7,263.9MWh/year, which will offset a CO2 emission of approximately 1,043 t CO2/year.
Through this project, RAAL will use the renewable energy produced for its consumption, without the need to conclude a supply contract with NextE, and network tariffs and the cogeneration contribution are not applicable to it since the energy delivery will be made without the involvement of public networks. The photovoltaic power plant will cover over 25% of RAAL's annual energy needs, thus optimizing utility costs by over 15% per year.
The design, construction, and connection process took approximately 12 months, and after commissioning, nextE remains the owner and manager of the plant.
The project reflects nextE's vision of energy as a service - Energy as a Service (EaaS), being
the longest onsite PPA (Power Purchase Agreement) contract for a corporate client in Romania. Through EaaS solutions, companies can have access to renewable energy from renewable sources, with zero investment cost, without performance risks and operational risks.
nextE invested €4.8 million in the project from RAAL, of which 70% was obtained through an investment loan granted by Pro Credit Bank for 15 years, which marks a first for the financing market of green projects in Romania.
Based on the PPA contract, the company will deliver to RAAL 5,825 MWh/year from the beginning of 2024, and the excess renewable energy produced by the photovoltaic plant, being sold on the energy market by nextE.
Daniel Husaru Co-Founder and Co-CEO of nextE, of nextE, states that the company's goal is to expand the Energy as a Service (EaaS) business model, aiming to reach a capacity of 500 MWp by the end of 2027.
"We focus on the C&I segment because maximizing renewable energy production capacities in the vicinity of industrial consumers has an immediate impact on their decarbonization while bringing a major competitive advantage to all companies that decide to take this step with us. We are currently actively involved in five PV power generation projects totaling approximately 160 MWp, which are at various stages of implementation comprising development, design and procurement, Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) negotiations, permitting, approval, and certification by the authorities. The development and implementation of the nextE Alpha Prundu Bârgăului photovoltaic power plant raised a series of technical and regulatory challenges, in terms of the location of the plant and the connection to deliver the energy directly to the final consumer - RAAL", he said.
Nicolas Pleșea, Chief Financial & Investment Officer of nextE, talks about the need for cooperation in successfully managing the transition from an energy system based on fossil fuels to a system based on renewable energy.
"The green investment credit facility (green loans) concluded with Pro Credit positively surprised us with the speed of execution, the short processing time, and the unexpected flexibility offered by our financial partner. We propose to expand our collaboration to include the support of Pro Credit with technical Due Diligence, providing asset management services and helping their clients in the execution of their green energy projects, thus significantly contributing to decarbonization efforts, while maximizing investors' investment returns," says Nicolas Pleșea.
nextE is a company that offers access to renewable energy from generation capacities from photovoltaic solar sources with zero investment cost, without performance risks and operational risks, on-site and off-site, with innovative contractual structures of up to 25 years. The EaaS (Energy as a Service) implementation option involves the production of electricity in a photovoltaic plant built, financed, owned, and used by nextE at the customer's consumption locations or in locations external to the customer's consumption locations. The generated electricity production is delivered to the end customer ensuring the company's energy independence, long-term stability, electricity cost reduction, and CO2 footprint reduction.