Better Energy and Toms Group have concluded a power purchase agreement, which contributes to the construction of a new solar park in Poland. The new solar park will bring subsidy-free solar power to Poland this year and has a production capacity of around 20 MW.
The agreement is one of the first Polish examples of a direct corporate PPA between a company and a power producer, with most solar PPAs in Poland using energy traders or others as middlemen.
“Few things are more important in our common fight against climate change and the energy crisis, than adding new affordable and renewable energy to the electricity grid. This is exactly what Toms Group contributes to with the agreement. In a volatile energy market, this PPA also signals a new era, where companies in Poland can demand additional renewable energy through a fixed-price power purchase agreement that serves as a hedge against higher energy prices,” explains Peter Munck Søe-Jensen, EVP Power Solutions in Better Energy.
The partnership between Better Energy and Toms Group builds upon an existing Danish PPA between the parties, signed in 2022.
“We're delighted with this expansion of our partnership with Better Energy, which will contribute to faster scaling of the green transition in a country that still relies heavily on energy from fossil fuels,” says Annette Zeipel, CEO, Toms Group.
The 1GWh that is earmarked for Toms Group is equivalent to 15% of power consumption in the Toms factory in Nowa Sol, Poland.
The new solar park cements the central role of solar power in the future energy mix in Europe. The new park is expected in Q4 in 2023, it is realised without government subsidies and highlights that solar can be build based on grid parity in Poland.
Solar power with immediate impact on carbon emissions
Polish electricity generation is currently dominated by fossil fuels with more than 70 percent of electricity being generated from coal. The positive environmental impact of additional renewable energy resources in Poland is therefore significantly higher than in many other European countries.
Additional clean energy moving fast
In December 2022, Better Energy announced a three-digit million EUR investment from Danish Pension Fund, ATP as part an ambition to scale green energy production across their markets of Denmark, Sweden, Finland, and Poland. The announcement followed a busy year for Better Energy with 12 PPAs being announced with Toms being accompanied by the likes of Carlsberg, Statkraft, Arla, Telia, Telenor, and Coloplast amongst others. They join a growing number of Better Energy partners including Google, telecom group TDC NET, pharmaceutical group Lundbeck, and global bio-science company Chr. Hansen.
