DIF acquires stake in Dutch solar company

DIF Capital Partners has signed an agreement to acquire 60% of Novar, a developer of solar and energy storage systems in the Netherlands.

As part of the investment, DIF will provide growth capital to among others support the expansion of Novar’s utility-scale solar, rooftop solar and battery energy storage systems (BESS) portfolio. Headquartered in Groningen, Novar owns and operates 440MW of utility-scale solar, rooftop solar and BESS projects. It has a development project pipeline of more than 15GW.

Novar is developing a private grid project in the Netherlands, which will provide grid connection for several of its large-scale solar and BESS projects, as well as the first Dutch solar thermal and green hydrogen projects. The company operates a fully integrated independent power producer (IPP) model.

Gijs Voskuyl, Partner at DIF, said: “The investment in Novar presents an opportunity for DIF to support the Dutch solar energy market leader with a long track record of successfully delivering ground-mounted and rooftop projects. Its existing 440MW contracted portfolio offers a robust investment proposition and with the extensive pipeline in solar and storage projects, we can continue to invest in energy transition investment opportunities going forward. We’re looking forward to working with Novar’s management team to continue to jointly grow the company in the years ahead.”

Gerben Smit, CEO of Novar Holding, added: “Thanks to this strategic partnership, Novar has the opportunity to shape further growth, expand internationally and achieve the target of 4GW of operating capacity by 2030.”

The transaction is subject to regulatory and other approvals and is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2023.