DWS has acquired 100% of Cleanwatts, with a commitment to invest ~€150 million by 2030 to scale Portugal’s energy communities model under PNEC 2030.

The core insight: infrastructure capital is moving downstream into decentralized platforms, not just generation assets.

Cleanwatts operates ~70 energy communities with ~30 MWp installed or under approval. Its model installs distributed PV with no upfront capex for clients, monetizing long-term consumption and shared surplus within local grids. DWS is underwriting platform build-out, not a single asset portfolio, with capital aligned to regulatory tailwinds and solar resource advantage.

This matters because decentralized self-consumption is shifting from developer-led rollout to balance-sheet-backed aggregation. Full ownership and a defined capital plan to 2030 signal confidence in predictable cash flows from proximity-to-load solar, storage integration, and optimization services. Execution capability, engineering depth, and regulatory clarity now drive valuation more than raw MW scale.

For the market, this transaction reinforces a structural shift: infrastructure funds are targeting distributed energy platforms that control customer relationships and grid-edge value, not just megawatt capacity. In markets with favorable self-consumption rules, aggregation is becoming the scalable asset.

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