Osborne Clarke advises BASF enviaM Solarpark Schwarzheide GmbH on PPA-based solar park financing by DZ BANK

Osborne Clarke has advised the joint venture of BASF Schwarzheide GmbH, production site of the chemical group BASF in Lusatia, and envia Mitteldeutsche Energie AG (enviaM), the leading regional energy service provider in Eastern Germany, on the PPA-based financing of the Schwarzheide solar park. The financing was provided by DZ BANK, Germany's second largest commercial bank. The Schwarzheide solar park will primarily supply BASF's Lusatian production site in Schwarzheide with solar power in the future.

Green all along the line: with its newly completed project, the specially founded joint venture BASF EnviaM Solarpark Schwarzheide GmbH has its sights set on environmentally friendly energy at several levels. Not only will the recently opened solar park in Schwarzheide generate 25 gigawatt hours (GWh) of renewable electricity annually through its approximately 52,000 photovoltaic modules with a total installed capacity of 24 megawatts peak (MWp). This energy will also supply a BASF plant under construction for the production of cathode materials – and thus enable the production of important components of lithium-ion batteries for low-emission electric cars. 

The investment sum amounted to approximately EUR 13 million and was brought in without public funding. BASF enviaM Solarpark Schwarzheide GmbH was advised on the PPA-based financing by an Osborne Clarke team led by Dr Daniel Breuer (Cologne) and Dr Jule Martin (Hamburg, both energy law).

“The decarbonisation of German industry is one of the major challenges of the energy transition and, alongside digitalisation and urban dynamics, Osborne Clarke's cross-sector focus in the energy sector. The expansion of renewable energies and the intelligent integration of flexible battery storage and electrolysers to produce green hydrogen are essential for achieving the climate targets. We are pleased that we were able to support BASF EnviaM Solarpark Schwarzheide GmbH with our expertise around green PPAs together with DZ BANK in the realisation of the project,” said Dr Daniel Breuer, Head of Energy & Utilities at Osborne Clarke Germany. 

Wolfgang Meyer, Head of Project Finance at DZ BANK, said: “We are very pleased to support this transaction and see PPA projects as a whole as an important building block in the energy transition.”