ReneSola (SOL)-Eiffel JV Acquires First Project In Europe

Zacks Equity Research Published on September 20, 2021

ReneSola Ltd’s (SOL - Free Report) joint venture (JV) with Eiffel Investment Group, known as European Solar Energy Development JV, has recently acquired its first batch of solar projects in Europe. With a combined capacity of 200 megawatts (MW), this project takes the JV one step closer to its goal of building 700 MW of solar projects over the span of three yearsin Europe.

This project is expected to strengthen ReneSola’s project development capabilities in European solar market.

Europe Solar Market Outlook

Solar market in the European Union ("EU") has show strong resilience in 2020amidtheCOVID-19 induced turmoil. Impressively, demand for solar power in Europe improved 15% in 2020 compared to 2019 level, thus resulting in the EU member states having cumulatively installed 137.2 gigawatts (GW) of solar power capacity, as stated by a report published by the SolarPower Europe.

Looking ahead, the aforementioned report anticipates solar power installations of 22.4 GW in 2021 in the EU. The region is projected to witness installations of 27.4 GW in 2022 and 30.8-GW in 2023. In 2024, the region can record a capacity addition of nearly 35 GW, thereby taking the overall anticipated capacity addition to 253 GW at the end of 2024.

ReneSola’s Expansion Projects in Europe

To capitalize on the opportunities present in the European Solar market, ReneSola has been undertaking significant expansion projects.The company is committed to accelerating solar projects development in Europe.

For instance, ReneSola, in July, sold 38 MW of solar projects located in Poland to Obton. In the same month, the company clinched a partnership agreement with Emeren to develop ground-mounted solar projects in Italy, with a pipeline of several transactions scheduled for 2021. Per the agreement, ReneSola Power and Emeren have a target of developing 110 MW shovel-ready projects by 2022 across the country.

Without a doubt, such initiatives including the latest project acquisition, are likely to strengthen ReneSola’s footprint in the expanding solar European market.

Peer Moves

Other solar companies are also expanding their footprint in the region to bank on the rapidly growing solar market in Europe.

For instance, in July 2021, Canadian Solar (CSIQ - Free Report) signed a 10-year power purchase agreement with Centrica Energy Trading A/S for two solar power projects totaling 12 MWp (megawatt-peak) in Italy. The projects are expected to start construction before the end of 2021.

Earlier in September 2020, Enphase Energy (ENPH - Free Report) entered into strategic partnerships with three solar distribution companies in Belgium and the Netherlands to distribute the Enphase IQ 7 family of microinverters to residential installers, across both these nations.

In the same month, First Solar's (FSLR - Free Report) advanced Series 6 photovoltaic (PV) solar modules were chosen by JP Energie Environnement (JPee) to power its 59-(MW) DC Labarde solar power plant, the largest urban photovoltaic power plant in France.

Price Movement

In the past one year, shares of ReneSola have gained 168.1% compared with the industry’s growth of 36.9%.

Zacks Rank

ReneSola currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

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