Acciona Energia completes sale of 175-MW hydro portfolio in Spain

Spanish renewables pure-player Acciona Energia (BME:ANE) has wrapped up the sale of a 175-MW hydropower portfolio in Spain to Elawan Energy, a company within Japanese diversified corporate group ORIX Corp (TYO:8591).

The assets are grouped under Acciona Saltos de Agua SL (ASA), which Elawan Energy acquired for EUR 293 million (USD 311.4m), Acciona Energia said on Tuesday.

The deal closed for more than originally agreed, which was EUR 287 million, resulting in a capital gain of EUR 180 million for Acciona Energia.

ASA owns 23 reservoir and run-of-river hydroelectric plants located in the Spanish regions of Aragon, Cantabria, and Catalonia. The plants have long-term concession agreements with an average remaining life of 23 years.

The transaction is part of Acciona Energia’s asset rotation plan, which is expected to include the sale of some wind power assets in Spain, but also the acquisition of wind farms in the United States. In a recent deal, the company bought two wind farms with a combined capacity of 300 MW in Texas.

Reuters reported a month ago that Acciona Energia was working on selling its entire hydropower business, which is only present in Spain. A separate report by Spanish newspaper Cinco Dias said that the reported sale attracted big-name utilities from Spain and abroad.

(EUR 1.0 = USD 1.063)

Choose your newsletter by Renewables Now. Join for free!