Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, Better Energy doubled its revenue and increased its pre-tax profit to DKK 32 million during 2020. The company is in a strong position for the planned expansion in Sweden and Poland in the coming years.
Better Energy has released its annual report for 2020, and it shows stable growth. Revenue increased to DKK 1,066 million, and operating profit landed at DKK 149 million, most of which has been dedicated to the company’s own solar parks.
“We dedicate a large part of our operating profit to our solar parks to ensure the best possible starting point for producing as much green electricity as possible in the years to come," explains Better Energy CEO Rasmus Lildholdt Kjær.
During the year, Better Energy completed five new Danish solar parks with a total capacity of 154 MW, which supply companies including Chr. Hansen and Google with new green energy. In addition to the green energy production in Denmark, Better Energy also built two new solar parks in Poland with a capacity of 60 MW and a solar park in Sweden of 12 MW.
Success through partnerships
In 2020, Better Energy established new and strategic partnerships that were key to its progress. We entered into several significant partnerships with Danish financial mutual Nykredit and Danish pension fund Industriens Pension.
The partnership with Industriens Pension involves a total investment of just over DKK 4 billion and approximately 400,000 Danish pension savers have thereby become co-owners of solar plants. These partnerships ensure that Better Energy is strongly positioned for the continued expansion of solar power.
“In 2020, we completed our transformation from a renewable energy developer to an independent power producer. Instead of focusing on developing and selling solar plants, we are now focusing on producing and selling green electricity. This is a crucial step we have taken,” says Rasmus Lildholdt Kjær. He points out that the company also intensified its efforts to strengthen biodiversity on the land areas managed by Better Energy and initiated solar projects on areas of special drinking water interests and lowlands.
In continuation of Better Energy’s focus on biodiversity, the company entered into a partnership with Habitats, a company with extensive biodiversity and wildlife development expertise.
“We are very excited about the partnership and the possibility of working together to show how solar parks can connect efforts for climate and biodiversity and at the same time keep a business focus. It makes sense both locally and in terms of a greater societal effort for sustainability,” says Habitats CEO Rasmus Vincentz.
As Better Energy establishes more solar parks, the company will have possibilities to spread biodiversity initiatives over larger areas.
At the end of 2020, Better Energy had approximately 450 MW energy capacity under construction and a pipeline of approximately 6 GW.
