Why Recurrent Energy Sold Hessay With the CfD Won and the Construction Already Started

Funds managed by Triple Point have acquired Hessay Solar, a 49.2 MW project in York, from Recurrent Energy, the development arm of Canadian Solar. The project holds planning consent, covers approximately 61.3 hectares and is expected to supply around 14,100 homes annually. Construction is already underway with grid connection targeted for the second half of 2027. Hessay was awarded a Contract for Difference in the UK government's Sixth Allocation Round, securing inflation-indexed revenues for 15 years. Terms were not disclosed. This is Triple Point's second UK solar acquisition of 2026, and Recurrent's fourth British disposal on record.

What did Triple Point acquire at Hessay?

Triple Point acquired a consented 49.2 MW solar project on roughly 61.3 hectares near York, equating to about 1.25 hectares per MW. Construction has commenced and grid connection is targeted for the second half of 2027. The consideration was not disclosed, which is standard for Recurrent: Enerdatics records 13 disposals by the company since the start of 2023 across the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, Italy and Japan, of which only two carry a disclosed price. The project also delivers biodiversity net gain far above the statutory minimum, with a 63 percent increase in habitat units against a 10 percent requirement, alongside 91 percent for hedgerow units and 29 percent for river units, achieved through hedgerow planting, wildflower meadows and grassland enhancement.

What is a Contract for Difference, and what did AR6 award?

A Contract for Difference guarantees a generator a fixed strike price for its output over the contract term, with a counterparty paying the shortfall when market prices fall below the strike and reclaiming the excess when they rise above it. The effect is to remove wholesale price risk entirely for the contracted period. Hessay's contract runs 15 years and is indexed to inflation. The Sixth Allocation Round, announced in September 2024, awarded 9.6 GW across 131 projects on a budget above £1.5 billion, of which 93 ground-mounted solar projects secured 3.3 GW at a strike price of £50.07 per MWh. At 49.2 MW, Hessay is a little above the 35.5 MW average solar award in that round and represents roughly 1.5 percent of the solar capacity contracted.

Why does the sale happen now rather than at commissioning?

Because the risks that determine a project's value have already been retired. Hessay holds planning consent, a signed grid connection targeted for a defined date, a 15-year indexed CfD and an active construction programme. What remains is delivery, which is capital-intensive but largely schedule-certain, and 15 years of contracted revenue thereafter. Selling at this point captures the development premium at its peak while transferring the construction funding requirement to a buyer whose business is holding long-dated infrastructure. Triple Point's Jonathan Hick described the strategy as securing ready-to-build sites with near-term grid connection dates and attractive long-term contracts, which is a precise description of what the seller has spent several years assembling.

Enerdatics' data shows this is a settled division of labour for Recurrent in Britain. The company has now disposed of four UK solar positions on Enerdatics' record within roughly 27 months: 49.9 MW of development-stage solar to Centrica in May 2024, 350 MW alongside Windel Energy to Quinbrook Infrastructure Partners in February 2025, 42.5 MW to Downing in March 2026, and now Hessay. Every one was sold at development or ready-to-build stage, and none carried a disclosed value. Across the wider group the pattern holds, with only two of 13 disposals since 2023 priced publicly: a 25,960 MW North American development pipeline sold to BlackRock for $704.42 million at $0.03 million per MW, and a 100 MW Australian battery position sold to Epic Energy for $85.5 million at $0.86 million per MW. Recurrent originates and consents at scale and hands over before operation, consistently.

What does the deal signal for UK solar?

The deal signals that the UK handover point has settled at construction-start rather than at commissioning, provided a CfD is attached. A buyer taking an asset with consent, grid date, contract and construction underway is accepting delivery risk in exchange for a lower entry price than an operating asset would command, and 15 years of indexed revenue makes that arithmetic straightforward to underwrite. Expect AR6-contracted projects to keep changing hands during construction, and expect the discount on uncontracted UK solar at the same stage to remain substantial.

The biodiversity figures deserve a note of their own. A 63 percent habitat net gain against a 10 percent statutory minimum is more than six times the requirement, and both parties chose to lead with it. Biodiversity net gain obligations run for 30 years under UK planning rules, roughly matching a solar farm's operating life, so they are a long-dated liability the buyer inherits alongside the asset. Substantially exceeding the threshold at the design stage reduces the risk of remediation costs later, which is a genuine if unglamorous part of what a buyer is paying for.

Key takeaways

• Funds managed by Triple Point acquired Hessay Solar, a consented 49.2 MW project on approximately 61.3 hectares near York, from Recurrent Energy. Terms were not disclosed.
• The project holds a 15-year inflation-indexed Contract for Difference from the Sixth Allocation Round, with construction underway and grid connection targeted for the second half of 2027.
• AR6 awarded 3.3 GW across 93 ground-mounted solar projects at a strike price of £50.07 per MWh, so Hessay represents roughly 1.5 percent of the solar capacity contracted in that round.
• Enerdatics records four UK solar disposals by Recurrent Energy in roughly 27 months, to Centrica, Quinbrook Infrastructure Partners, Downing and now Triple Point, all at development or ready-to-build stage and none with a disclosed value.
• Only two of Recurrent's 13 disposals since 2023 carry a disclosed price: a 25,960 MW North American pipeline sold to BlackRock at $0.03 million per MW, and a 100 MW Australian battery position to Epic Energy at $0.86 million per MW.

Frequently asked questions

How much did Triple Point pay for Hessay Solar?Terms were not disclosed. Enerdatics records 13 Recurrent Energy disposals since the start of 2023, of which only two carry a published price, and none of its four UK solar sales has been disclosed, so there is no directly comparable UK price point on the record.

What is a Contract for Difference?A Contract for Difference guarantees a generator a fixed strike price for its output, with the counterparty paying the difference when market prices fall below that level and reclaiming it when prices rise above. Hessay's contract runs for 15 years and is indexed to inflation, removing wholesale price risk for that period.

What is biodiversity net gain?Biodiversity net gain is a UK planning requirement that major developments leave habitat in a measurably better state, with a statutory minimum of 10 percent and obligations running for 30 years. Hessay delivers a 63 percent increase in habitat units, 91 percent in hedgerow units and 29 percent in river units.

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