DLA Piper advises H&M Group on signing power purchase agreements to build three solar parks in Sweden

DLA Piper has advised the H&M Group on several long-term corporate power purchase agreements (PPA) with Alight, a leading European solar developer and independent power producer, to enable the development of three new solar parks in Sweden. The long-term agreements signed for the ground-mounted solar parks located in Blekinge, Södermanland, and Halland will provide a capacity of 13 MW, 6 MW and 4 MW respectively to H&M Group, helping the company in reducing its carbon footprint and adding new green power capacity to the Swedish grid.

Construction of the Blekinge park has already begun, while the other two parks will begin construction in the spring of 2024. Once operational in early 2025, Alight will own and operate the solar parks.

Together the projects will generate at least 24 GWh of clean electricity, which is equivalent to the annual power consumption of over 4,800 homes. This deal builds on the partnership between H&M Group and Alight, who signed a PPA in December 2022 to build a 100 MW solar park in Hultsfred, Sweden, jointly developed and owned with French renewable energy company Neoen. DLA Piper also advised on this PPA (see article here).

H&M Group has set the ambitious goal to reduce the company’s absolute scope 1 and 2 emissions and its scope 3 emissions by 56% both by 2030 and from a 2019 baseline and to increase the annual sourcing of renewable electricity to 100% by 2030. As part of the company’s green investments, PPAs play a very important role in the company’s climate work to achieve its targets.

Natasha Luther-Jones, Global Co-Chair of the Energy and Natural Resources Sector and International Head of Sustainability and ESG at DLA Piper added: "Once again we’ve advised our longstanding client H&M Group on a series of solar corporate power purchase agreements in Sweden. They are successfully harnessing PPAs to reach their renewable energy consumption goals for 2030 and we are thrilled to advise on their ongoing sustainability journey.”

The DLA Piper team was led by Natasha Luther-Jones (Partner, Leeds/London) and negotiations were led by Emma Whitfield (Senior Associate, Leeds).