Axfood has signed a power purchase agreement with Alight which means that the food retail group will buy electricity at a fixed low price for a period of 12 years. The new solar farm in Hallstavik is expected to generate about 63 gigawatt hours annually – the equivalent of the electricity consumption of 12,000 single-family homes. Construction will start soon and the installation is expected to be in production in the second quarter of 2024.
“Fighting climate change is a real challenge which requires an effort from everyone. It is gratifying to see that one of Sweden’s most respected companies, Axfood, is taking the lead in enabling the development of more renewable energy,” says Harald Överholm, CEO of Alight.
“At the same time as we have set our sights on continuing to reduce our environmental impact, we want to contribute to increasing the amount of renewable energy in the market. By collaborating with Alight we are proud to be able to drive the development of Sweden’s largest solar farm to provide more green energy for the country,” says Klas Balkow, President and CEO of Axfood.
Construction of the new solar farm is being financed with a green loan from SEB.
“This is the first time we are providing project finance for a solar farm in Sweden. It is an important step in a new area within renewable energy,” says Emma Sandblad, project leader of the financing within & Infrastructure Finance at SEB.
SEB is largest in the Nordic area within project and infrastructure financing and one of the largest for wind power. SEB has also financed major wind power projects in Germany and the UK.
The loan was preceded by a lengthy dialogue between SEB and Alight.
“We are proud to have secured financing through SEB, one of Sweden's most credible banks with an impressive track record in renewable energy projects. Together, we are entering in a new era of solar energy in Sweden and hope to see many more projects on this scale in the future”, says Alight's CEO Harald Överholm.