Iona Capital forms joint venture with Shawton Energy for C&I solar

Iona Capital has formed a joint venture with Shawton Energy to fund new industrial and commercial rooftop solar projects.

Together they are looking to deliver more than £50 million of invested capital over the next five years.

This is Iona Capital’s second move in the UK solar PV market in as many weeks, having announced a partnership with IGas to develop utility-scale ground-mounted solar farms on 19 October.

“Our JV with Shawton Energy provides landlords and owner-occupiers with the necessary financial, project development and construction expertise to take control of their energy strategy,” Graham Mackenzie, investment director at Iona Capital said.

“At a time of rising energy costs, and the growing pressure to cut CO2 emissions, rooftop solar is a ready-made solution. Rooftop solar is a part of the renewables market that - as the pressure on industry to deliver net zero builds - we expect to grow quickly over the coming years.”

Businesses will be able to enter into power purchase agreements with Iona Capital and Shawton Energy, which will help them to reduce their energy bills and lower their carbon emissions.

Shawton Energy is a renewable technology provider, which has been a player in the sector for over 20 years and has developed a significant number of solar, battery and renewable energy projects over the past two years.

“Iona Capital’s investment and our partnership with them gives us a strong platform to grow our business in a buoyant period for the renewable sector, in particular private wire connections,” said Jamie Shaw, managing director of Shawton Energy.

“Together we can provide funding, turnkey installations and operations and maintenance which makes us a strong collaboration. We share a passion and a commitment with Iona to enable industry and commerce to fully realise the long-term benefits of renewable energy, and a commitment to build high-quality, well-maintained on-site generation systems for our customers.”