Anesco has developed three solar farms in the Netherlands, including the 30MWp Sas Van Gent solar farm, in the province of Zeeland (pictured). Image: Anesco.
UK developer Anesco is expanding into Europe, announcing its first subsidiary in the Netherlands.
Wouter Beerten has been hired to lead Anesco Netherlands, bringing 12 years of experience in the solar and utilities sectors.
He will head up the company’s new office in Amsterdam, as the company looks to build out a pipeline of large scale solar and energy storage projects, as well as expanding its operation and maintenance (O&M) service offering in the Dutch market.
“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 in the next few years,” said Mark Futyan, Anesco CEO.
“The Netherlands is where we broke ground on our first projects outside of the UK, so it’s a fitting location to begin that journey and I’m delighted to have Wouter on board, to lead on opportunities in this new market.”
Anesco began working on three projects in the Netherlands in 2020 on behalf of Shell Renewables and Energy Solutions. It energised these sites – a 12MWp array in Emmen, a 14MWp solar farm near the town of Heerenveen, in the province of Friesland and a 30MWp solar installation in Sas Van Gent, in the province of Zeeland – in January 2022.
The company is eyeing further international expansion, and secured a £12 million revolving credit facility from Santander UK in March to support this. At the time it identified Germany as well as the Netherlands as key markets of interest for it.
“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,” said Wouter Beerten, director Anesco Netherlands.
“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. I look forward to the challenge of carving out a market share for Anesco.”
In the UK, the company is also continuing to buildout its portfolio, securing planning permission for three solar farms in March, which form part of its 600MW pipeline of new solar and storage projects that are at the planning and ready to build stage.
Since it was established in 2010, Anesco has developed more than 100 solar farms and 30 battery storage facilities, as well as its O&M arm having more than 24,0000 renewable assets under management.