DLA Piper advises Ignitis on long-term PPA in Poland

DLA Piper has advised UAB Ignitis an international green energy company operating in the three Baltic states and Poland, on the negotiation of a baseload power purchase agreement (PPA) for a 137 MW wind plant in Poland with Umicore for its EV battery materials plant. This involved the review of a complex balancing structure, and associated REMIT reporting obligations.

The 10-year PPA will supply renewable power to Umicore’s cathode active materials production plant for electric vehicles in Nysa, Poland, covering a substantial part of its electricity consumption needs. It is also Ignitis’ largest corporate PPA to date.

Ignitis will provide the renewable electricity from its onshore Silesia II Wind Farm, which is under construction in southwestern Poland and will have a total capacity of 137 MW. The windfarm is expected to be commissioned by the second half of 2024. The contract runs from the start of 2025 until the end of 2034.

Andreas Gunst, lead partner at DLA Piper added: "We are delighted to have advised our client Ignitis Group on yet another landmark power purchase agreement, this time in Poland. It’s great to accompany a client that harnesses PPAs as a key driver in their renewable energy projects. We’re seeing more and more industrial companies across Europe use corporate PPAs as part of their energy supply and sustainability strategies - this is a trend that will continue across other industries as well.”

The DLA Piper team was led by Andreas Gunst (Partner, London/Vienna), with Oskar Waluskiewicz (Partner, Warsaw), Bartosz Matusik (Partner, Warsaw) and Kenneth Wallace-Muller (Senior Associate, London/Vienna).