British renewables developer Anesco is powering up international expansion with the launch of its first operation outside the UK.
Wouter Beerten (pictured) joins the company to lead Anesco Netherlands. A twelve-year veteran of solar and the utilities industry, Beerten is tasked to build a team in Amsterdam delivering large scale solar and energy storage projects, plus solar farm operations and maintenance.
This January Anesco flicked the switch on 56 MWp across a trio of Shell-owned solar farms in the country, the largest being a 30MWp installation in Sas Van Gent in Zeeland.
Anesco CEO Mark Futyan commented: “Opening our first office outside the UK is a milestone moment for us and represents the start of a strategic European expansion programme, which will see us targeting significant growth”.
“The Netherlands is a fitting location to begin that journey.
“Our end-to-end capabilities and strong track record means we are well placed to work with investors across Europe, to accelerate their renewables ambitions and the transition to net zero.”
Beerten commented: “The Netherlands presents a fantastic opportunity for Anesco, especially in relation to the increasing levels of interest being shown in utility scale battery storage technology – an area in which Anesco is highly experienced. In tandem, Anesco’s O&M capabilities, especially for third-party assets, are an appealing proposition for established renewables developers.
“The solar PV market in the Netherlands may be one of the fastest growing in the world but there is still a lot of work to do if we are to hit government targets for decarbonising energy.”
The Reading-based company in 2017 built Britain’s first subsidy-free solar farm, the 10 MWp Clayhill project near Milton Keynes, incorporating 6MW of power storage.
Anesco recently secured a £12m revolving credit facility from Santander to support its pipeline in the UK and Europe, including five battery storage projects and three ready-to-build solar farms.
The storage projects, located in Dundee, Melksham, Nottingham, Ipswich and Essex, are due to become operational by spring 2023. The three solar farms, located in England and south Wales, are due to start operating later this year.
