The pandemic reinforced renewable assets as highly uncorrelated to GDP and other asset classes. In November 2023 the EU raised their binding renewable target to a minimum of 42.5% by 2030. This means nearly doubling their existing share of renewable energy. In Spain, renewable capacity forecast is expected to grow by 86% by 2030. Snowball’s portfolio is contributing towards this just transition through the Spanish Project Puerto Real 1. Acquired as a Ready to Build 133.6 megawatt solar project that is the first phase of a 223-megawatt solar plant planned in the administrative district of Puerto Real, in the province of Cádiz. The plant is a large unsubsidised utility-scale solar photovoltaic facility consisting of 330,000 high efficiency modules of ground-mounted panels spread over an area of 250 hectares.

The project has successfully overcome challenging factors including a photovoltaic panel manufacturing price spike in 2020 and logistics issues caused by the pandemic finishing on schedule after seven months of construction. The project entered into commercial operation and was connected to the grid in mid-May 2021. A stable revenue was guaranteed through a long-term contract agreement signed by an investment grade counterparty to buy electricity over a specific period at a fixed price (long-term power offtake agreement). The project generates 204,000 megawatts of electricity per hour and supplies enough clean energy to power 30,000 homes, reducing 175,000 metric tons of greenhouse emissions a year. With an unemployment rate of over 20% in Cádiz the site will also bring social benefits to the district, employing 300 workers over the project’s lifetime.