CEE GROUP UPGRADES RENEWABLE ENERGY TRADING CAPABILITIES TO DRIVE POST-SUBSIDY MARKET GROWTH
Hamburg-based asset manager invests in its PPA and trading expertise to deliver strong returns for investors and continued portfolio growth in receding government support structures
Zurich/Hamburg, May 31st, 2022 – Hamburg-based CEE Group, an asset management company for renewable energies, has invested in its Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) and Energy Trading capabilities to manage market volatility, enhance revenues and support its growth in a European renewable energy market with government supported feed-in tariff structures taking a back seat.
CEE, which has 1.4GW and €2.1billion of solar and onshore wind assets in Germany, Denmark, Sweden, the Netherlands, France and Spain, has undertaken a substantial upgrade of its capabilities for pricing, analysis and monitoring of energy risk and revenues. Its investment and asset management teams are working in close cooperation with Pexapark, a provider of software and advisory services for a post-state feed-in tariff renewable energy world, in various markets to adapt to fundamental market changes.
The asset manager has invested in capabilities enabling it to undertake due diligence when acquiring projects that already have PPAs, source offtakers, design and structure PPAs for plants that do not have agreements in place and then – crucially – manage the exposure along the entire lifecycle of the respective investment. With PPAs needing to be managed throughout the project’s operating phase, this is particularly important.
This active energy trading approach marks a step-change in sophistication for the renewable energy market, as CEE seeks to mitigate risks and pursue opportunities for its investors that deliver strong, stable returns in a rapidly evolving environment.
The change in approach has recently led to the successful execution of a number of agreements with European offtakers in Germany and Spain, enabling CEE Group to secure prices during an unprecedented period of price volatility in continental energy markets.
“From the very beginning, the CEE Group has pursued the consistent expansion of its activities in the field of renewable energies,” said Detlef Schreiber, CEO of CEE Group. “The goal has been and still is organic and stable growth in Europe in wind and solar. In order to secure the results over the entire value chain and for the entire operating period, our own CEE employees are responsible not only for the acquisition and due diligence process but also for the commercial management of both our photovoltaic and wind power plants – meaning we are able to manage and respond to both, certain technical and all commercial risks across the portfolio. For this reason, we have been dealing with the topic of PPAs for quite some time and have built up extensive know-how internally in this respect.”
He added: “This, along with a sophisticated operating system based on market intelligence, enables us to provide institutional investors with an investment offering the prospect of stable long-term returns with relatively low risks and fluctuations in value.”
Pexapark has been able to bring its extensive energy trading and quantitative analysis expertise to the partnership. The two organisations have built a strong, trusted relationship over the last two years. CEE is now using the full suite of services offered by Pexapark, including its renewable energy pricing data, software and services – all with a view to optimising portfolio revenues in both the short and the long term.
“In our 2022 Market Outlook report, we highlighted that ongoing market volatility is leading to a new era of increased exposure to price risk, putting greater emphasis on shorter-term PPA agreements and more active management of trading strategies across portfolios,” added Michael Waldner, CEO of Pexapark. “CEE Group has moved quickly to significantly enhance its approach to managing merchant market risk in this new and rapidly changing world of energy trading.
“This new approach will help to maximise investor returns on renewable energy assets, as subsidy schemes continue to come to an end on existing assets and as new assets are exposed to merchant market risk.”
About CEE Group
CEE Group is a Hamburg-based asset manager specializing in renewable energy. With a track record of over 80 transactions in the renewable energy sector and a portfolio of over two billion euros in assets under management in Europe, CEE is a competent and reliable partner. Since its inception, CEE’s main focus has been on wind and solar energy. The CEE Group has 44 onshore wind energy parks with an installed capacity of around 622 MW and 38 photovoltaic plants with around 718 MWp. The total capacity thus amounts to around 1,340 MW.
As an internationally operating company, the CEE Group offers its customers sustainable investment concepts with long-term return opportunities in the growth market for renewable energies. With its independently operating companies, the company has a comprehensive range of services for projects in this segment. Investors are in particular institutional investors with a long-term interest in renewable energies.
Further information: www.cee-group.de
About Pexapark
Pexapark is an award-winning enterprise software and advisory company, specialised in renewable energy. With more than 20,000 MW of renewable PPA transactions supported, Pexapark is the reference for buying, selling and managing renewable energy.
Pexapark’s PPA reference prices increase transparency across 18 markets. Our advisory team and software suite enable leading companies to close successful PPA transactions, manage their risk and grow their renewable energy revenues.
Pexapark was founded in 2017 with the purpose of accelerating the energy transition towards net zero by creating an efficient market for renewable energy.
For more information, please get in touch with us at hello@pexapark.com.
