Talanx buys another solar farm in Spain

"We are delighted to be purchasing this solar farm from our cooperation partner BayWa r.e. This underscores our very good cooperation to date", notes Dr Peter Brodehser, Head of Infrastructure Investments at Talanx. "Through the transfer of ownership of the solar farm we now have as well the opportunity to participate directly in the development of this business. Furthermore, we are diversifying our risk by investing in alternative assets."

Benedikt Ortmann, Global Director of Solar Projects at BayWa r.e., adds: "With our third completely subsidy free solar farm Don Rodrigo 2 we again demonstrated that solar power is the cheapest form of energy production. We are happy to sell this solar park to Talanx, which has a clear focus on alternative investments. This will deepen our partnership in the field of solar energy."
Talanx has so far made available some EUR 220 million in debt capital for financing solar farms and holds equity investments in onshore wind power projects with a total output of 300 MW. "After the purchase of the Spanish solar park Bienvenida in December 2019, we are now investing again in a solar park and building up this asset class – as a complementary asset class to wind", explains Brodehser. "Especially the Spanish solar parks are an excellent alternative to our onshore windparks due to the high solar radiation", he continues. This involvement will also help Talanx to achieve the strategic objective that the company has set itself of doubling its investments in infrastructure and renewables over the coming years to EUR 5 billion.

Altogether, the Group – which signed up to the United Nations-supported Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) in November and thereby committed itself to sustainable investing activities – has already invested more than EUR 2.2 billion in infrastructure and renewables – including more than EUR 1.3 billion directly in renewable energy sources (wind and solar). Within the German insurance industry it thus ranks among the leading investors and operators of renewable energy installations. The updated sustainability strategy of the Talanx Group envisages that from 2019 onwards it will operate with a net zero carbon footprint in Germany, become a leading insurer of renewable energy sources and – by 2038 – withdraw entirely from coal-based risks. The topics of "Education & Diversity", "Climate Protection" and "Sustainable Business Practices" are similarly enshrined in the sustainability goals.