Estonian renewables firm Enefit Green AS announced on Wednesday its decision to divest its district heating operations in Paide, Estonia, and Valka, Latvia, redirecting its focus towards expanding its presence in the wind and solar energy sectors across the region.
Utilitas, a prominent Estonian renewable power and heat producer, is slated to acquire these facilities in a deal valued at EUR 15.8 million (USD 17.4m) on a cash- and debt-free basis.
The agreement outlines the transfer of a cogeneration plant, a biomass boiler house, a reserve boiler house, and a solar farm in Paide from Enefit Green to Utilitas. This district heating unit, serving 226 buildings, employs a workforce of 21.
In Valka, the district heating business encompasses a cogeneration plant and reserve boiler houses constructed in 2012, along with a team of 12 employees. The city of Valka oversees the sale of thermal energy from these plants to customers.
The transaction is contingent on approval from Estonian and Latvian competition authorities. Once finalized, Enefit Green will seamlessly transition all assets, services, partnerships, and employees in Paide and Valka to the Utilitas Group.
Innar Kaasik, Member of the Management Board and Production Manager of Enefit Green, emphasized the company's strategic shift towards increasing the share of wind and solar energy in the Baltics and Poland. Kaasik stated, “As of today, we are already the largest wind energy producer in the Baltics and have successfully expanded the production of solar energy in recent years.”
Robert Kitt, head of district heating companies at Utilitas, expressed enthusiasm about the acquisition, noting, “As the largest district heating company in Estonia, we see that both Paide and Valka fit very well into our district heating portfolio with their district heating systems based on renewable sources.”
