Aura Power and Verdant merge to create 1GW solar and battery platform

Aura Power and Verdant Energy have merged to create a new solar and battery energy storage system independent power producer, bringing together around 1GW of operating and under-construction assets across the UK.

The combined business will operate under the Aura Power brand and will be led by the company’s Founder and Chief Executive, Simon Coulson, who will retain a minority stake. The merger is being backed by infrastructure investor CVC DIF.

Alongside the 1GW portfolio of solar and battery storage projects already operating or under construction, the enlarged company will have a further development pipeline of around 10GW. It will also continue to selectively develop some of Aura Power’s BESS projects elsewhere in Europe.

That gives the combined company a sizeable pipeline to work through, although the more important measure will ultimately be how much of that 10GW progresses through financial close and into construction.

The company has already reached financial close on six UK solar projects and energised its first project, Kemble, earlier this year, while Verdant brings a roughly 660MW portfolio of utility-scale solar and co-located battery projects operating or under construction.

Bringing those portfolios together should give the enlarged company more opportunity to standardise the less visible parts of delivery: equipment procurement, EPC interfaces, grid compliance, commissioning requirements and the handover from construction teams into long-term operation. Those are also the areas where scale can expose weaknesses if processes differ substantially between projects.

Simon Coulson, Founder and Chief Executive of Aura Power, commented, “This merger with Verdant Energy, with the backing of CVC DIF, marks a transformative milestone for Aura Power. By combining our extensive development pipeline with Verdant’s robust delivery track-record, we are perfectly positioned to scale our IPP model. The deal provides us with both the financial strength and operational expertise to accelerate the delivery of critical solar and battery storage infrastructure, helping the UK meet its ambitious green energy targets.”

Caine Bouwmeester, Partner and Head of Renewable Energy at CVC DIF, added, “This transaction builds on our original investment in Verdant, bringing together two highly complementary businesses to create a leading UK solar and BESS IPP with the scale, pipeline and delivery capability to generate long-term value. We look forward to partnering with Simon and the team as they take the business into its next phase of growth.”