Novar, the company formerly known as Solarfields, has bought a large solar park in Lower Saxony from the Hamburg developer WiNRG. The project is still years from construction, and nobody has said what Novar paid. Six advisory firms worked on the transaction anyway. The interesting part is the development services agreement signed alongside the sale.
Key takeaways
- Novar (formerly Solarfields) announced on 30 April 2024 that it had acquired a large-scale solar park in Lower Saxony, Germany, from Hamburg-based developer WiNRG, with the deal value undisclosed.
- Novar's acquisition of the WiNRG solar park was structured through a share purchase agreement that also included development service arrangements, and marks a significant step in Novar's expansion into the German market.
- The Lower Saxony solar park is anticipated to have a capacity of 91 MWp to 156 MWp and is expected to be ready to build by the second quarter of 2026.
- Enerdatics calculates the investment for the 91 MW Lower Saxony (Novar) solar farm at $100 million, or $1.1 million per MW, and estimates commercial operation by December 2027.
- Of 26 German solar M&A transactions Leap records in 2024, only two carry a disclosed value, and both are corporate takeovers rather than project sales.
Why would a buyer pay a developer to keep developing?
Because the project is not finished, and the developer knows it best. At the time of sale the Lower Saxony park was early-stage, with most of the work needed to reach construction still ahead. Someone has to carry it to the point where construction can start, which Leap's record puts at the second quarter of 2026.
A development service arrangement is a contract under which the seller continues to do that work for the buyer, usually for fees or milestone payments, after ownership has changed hands. The buyer gets the asset on its balance sheet early. The seller gets paid for the work it was going to do anyway, and keeps the local relationships with landowners, municipalities and the grid operator that a new owner cannot replicate overnight.
The structure also explains the share purchase. Buying the project company, rather than its assets one by one, carries over any permits, land agreements and applications already held in its name. Paired with a services contract, it lets the project move without a pause while its owner changes.
What does a capacity range of 91 to 156 MWp tell a buyer?
That the project's final size is still a variable. The upper end of the range is about 71 percent larger than the lower end. For an early-stage solar park, that gap usually reflects decisions not yet made: how much of the site can be used, how the panels are laid out, and how much capacity the grid connection will accept.
It also changes how any price would be read. A fixed consideration spread over 91 MWp gives one figure per megawatt; spread over 156 MWp it gives a figure about 42 percent lower. The undisclosed price means the market cannot make that calculation. The buyer will have, and the development service arrangement is one way to share the risk of landing at the bottom of the range rather than the top.
Leap's project record uses 91 MW. On that basis Enerdatics calculates a total project investment of $100 million, about $1.1 million per MW, in line with reported figures for solar projects of this scale in the region. Enerdatics also estimates that financing for construction will be secured by December 2026 and that the park will be operating by December 2027.
Why did a mid-sized project sale draw six advisers?
Because for the buyer it was a market entry rather than a single asset trade. Novar described the deal as a significant step in its expansion into Germany, and its own model, which integrates power generation, energy storage and flexible energy delivery, means it was buying a platform for future work as much as a single park.
On WiNRG's side, Capcora and Osborne Clarke acted as financial advisers and Brahms Nebel & Kollegen as legal adviser. Novar used PwC as financial adviser, Eversheds Sutherland as legal adviser and K&S Ingenieurpartnerschaft Krug & Schram as technical adviser. A technical adviser on the buy side is a sign that Novar was underwriting the site itself, not just the paperwork.
Enerdatics records 26 solar M&A transactions in Germany announced during 2024. Only two carry a disclosed value: the takeover of Encavis by KKR and Viessmann at about $5.15 billion in March 2024, and BlackRock's purchase of ENVIRIA from Galileo for $200 million in February 2024. Both are company deals. None of the asset sales carries a price. Nine of the 26 were asset deals for projects still under development, ranging from Aukera Energy's 20 MW solar and 20 MW battery project to Eiffel Investment Group's 49 percent stake in a 500 MWp portfolio from aream, with Novar's 91 MW toward the upper end of that list.
What does the deal signal for German solar M&A?
It signals that early-stage German solar is trading on structure rather than price. When a buyer enters a market by acquiring a project years from construction, the terms that matter most are often the ones that govern what happens next: who keeps developing, who carries the risk if the capacity shrinks, and when the payments fall due. A share purchase with development services attached addresses all three.
It also confirms how little pricing information this market releases. With no disclosed value on any 2024 German solar asset deal in Leap, buyers and sellers are benchmarking against private data, and outside observers have to work from project-level estimates such as the $1.1 million per MW investment figure Enerdatics attaches to this park.
The open question is where on the 91 to 156 MWp range the project lands. That answer will arrive with the permits, well before the panels do.
Frequently asked questions
What did Novar buy from WiNRG? Novar, formerly Solarfields, acquired a large-scale solar park in Lower Saxony, Germany, from Hamburg-based developer WiNRG, announced on 30 April 2024. The deal value was not disclosed and the project is expected to be ready to build by the second quarter of 2026.
How was the Novar and WiNRG deal structured? The transaction was a share purchase agreement that also included development service arrangements between Novar and WiNRG, the Hamburg-based developer that sold the Lower Saxony solar park.
Who advised on the Novar acquisition? Capcora and Osborne Clarke advised WiNRG as financial advisers, with Brahms Nebel & Kollegen as legal adviser. PwC, Eversheds Sutherland and K&S Ingenieurpartnerschaft Krug & Schram advised Novar on financial, legal and technical matters.
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