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Press release, Miami and Berlin, November 7, 2024 – I Squared Capital, a leading independent global infrastructure investment manager, announced today that its renewables platform Cube Green Energy has signed an agreement to acquire control of SUNfarming, a leading German photovoltaic (PV) developer and independent power producer with a focus on solar projects on agricultural land, known as “Agri-PV”. By joining forces with the founders of SUNfarming, Cube Green Energy will have an early-mover advantage in Germany’s Agri-PV market, unlocking synergies and advancing the company’s commitment to innovative solutions for Germany’s energy transition goals.

Agri-PV is an important segment in the German energy market as the country seeks to transition towards a fully decarbonized power system while ensuring a more independent, affordable, and resilient domestic energy supply. Agri-PV will also help Germany meet its PV capacity target of 215 GW by 2030 while preserving agricultural production.

SUNfarming is a German family-owned renewables developer which has built more than 650 MW of PV projects across Europe and developed a pipeline of close to 2 GW of Agri-PV capacity. The company is a market leader in the high-growth Agri-PV segment in Germany with expertise across the PV value chain from planning and construction to operational asset management. SUNfarming’s founding families trace their roots to the German farming sector resulting in deep and trusted relationships with farmers and local municipalities.

Through the combination, I Squared and Cube Green Energy will support SUNfarming in planning, constructing, and operating its ambitious pipeline. I Squared is targeting to deploy over €500 million of capital expenditure into the execution of SUNfarming’s Agri-PV pipeline by 2028, which will also provide the company with access to I-Squared’s global equipment procurement strategy and scale. Since 2014, I Squared has committed $7 billion to wider energy transition initiatives.

Mohamed El Gazzar, Senior Partner at I Squared, said: “The expansion of renewable energies, and in particular solar energy, is an indispensable building block for achieving climate targets. As a German leader in Agri-PV, SUNfarming offers a win-win solution for climate and agriculture, which I Squared is delighted to support. We are excited to work with SUNfarming’s experienced management team to unlock the company’s full potential within the fast-growing renewable energy market in Germany.”

Raghuveer Kurada, CEO of Cube Green Energy, said: “Joining forces with SUNfarming presents Cube Green Energy with significant synergies in its existing onshore wind development business and neatly complements our strategy to implement innovate solutions for a future with 24/7 renewable energy. Cube Green Energy is delighted to have found a partner in SUNfarming that shares our values, and we look forward to working with such a highly successful and diversified renewables platform in Germany.”

Peter Schrum, founder of SUNfarming, said: “This transaction marks an exciting next stage for our company and brings us an important step closer to the crucial goal of driving the energy transition and creating a greener future. I Squared’s investment via Cube Green Energy gives further tailwind to SUNfarming’s dynamic development and underlines our strong position in the Agri-PV market. The deep market know-how as well as the financial strength of our new partner will help us to continue the success story of SUNfarming in the future. Our partners, customers, and employees will continue to receive services based on our core principles of reliability, sustainable growth, and responsibility.”
The parties have agreed to not disclose the financial details of the transaction, which is expected to close by Q1 2025. The transaction remains subject to obtaining customary regulatory clearances and conditions. SUNfarming founders and key management will retain a significant minority shareholding position and will otherwise continue their existing role in the company.

About I Squared
I Squared is a leading independent global infrastructure investor with over $40 billion in assets under management. We are known for the development of investment platforms in infrastructure projects where we start small and grow big. We use global insights and deep local intelligence to solve complex problems, foster smarter businesses, serve local communities, and invest in a more sustainable future to provide essential services to millions of people around the world. We are a team of over 280 people, headquartered in Miami with offices in Abu Dhabi, London, Munich, New Delhi, São Paulo, Singapore, Sydney and Taipei. We operate a diverse portfolio of 86 companies in more than 70 countries with over 66,000 employees in a variety of sectors including utilities, energy, digital infrastructure, transport, environmental infrastructure, and social infrastructure. You can find out more by visiting: www.isquaredcapital.com.

About SUNfarming
SUNfarming was founded in 2004 as a medium-sized family business by main shareholder Peter Schrum and his partner Martin Tauschke in Erkner near Berlin. The company employs around 120 employees in Germany and Poland and operates in all areas of photovoltaics with a focus on Agri-PV, Biodiversity PV, Floating PV, Rooftop PV, and Eco PV. With a track record of 650 MW PV developments and installations and more than 250 MW maintenance of operating PV plants, SUNfarming is established as one of the leading and long-lasting companies in the German and European solar market. You can find out more by visiting: www.sunfarming.de.

About Cube Green Energy
Cube Green Energy is a Berlin-based independent power producer and renewables developer focused on implementing innovative solutions to power the energy transition. A portfolio company of I Squared Capital, Cube Green Energy has a mission to accelerate Europe’s shift to a zero-carbon economy by upgrading and repowering existing onshore wind farms, developing new renewable energy farms and deploying state-of-the-art battery storage solutions to enable a 24/7 energy future. You can find out more by visiting: www.cubegreenenergy.com.

CONTACT DETAILS:
I Squared
Dominic McMullan/ Shelly Hagan
info@isquaredcapital.com

Brunswick Group
Alexa von Dryander
+49 (0)172 688 738
Tobias Niehaus
+49 (0)174 195 2439
ISquaredGER@brunswickgroup.com

SUNfarming GmbH
Lena Schrum
PR/Communikation
Mobile: +49 176 63647322
Mail: l.schrum@sunfarming.de

Disclaimers
No discussion with respect to specific companies should be considered a recommendation to purchase or sell any particular investment. The companies discussed do not represent all past investments. It should not be assumed that any of the investments discussed were or will be profitable, or that recommendations or decisions made in the future will be profitable. Past performance is not indicative of future results, and there can be no assurance that any investment will achieve similar returns.

This document does not constitute advice or a recommendation or offer to sell or a solicitation to deal in any security or financial product. It is provided for information purposes only. Investing involves risk, loss of principal is possible. Specific investments described herein do not represent all investment decisions made by ISQ. The reader should not assume that investment decisions identified and discussed were or will be profitable. Specific investment advice references provided herein are for illustrative purposes only and are not necessarily representative of investments that will be made in the future.

Find out about our innovative Agri-PV concepts, which have been specially developed for fruit and vegetable growing and the cultivation of special crops. In the Altes Land region near Hamburg, our Agri-Solar Umbrellas effectively protect numerous fruit trees from weather damage.
Find out more about our global commitment to connecting food & energy and how our solutions are making agriculture more sustainable.

The expoSE & expoDirekt 2024
Around 440 exhibitors from 13 countries and over 5,500 trade visitors from more than 30 countries await you at the expoSE & expoDirekt trade fair duo from 20 to 21 November 2024 at Messe Karlsruhe. The 28th expoSE is Europe's leading trade fair for asparagus and berry production with open-air vegetables. The 13th expoDirekt, the largest trade fair in this field in Germany, is all about agricultural direct marketing. The trade fair duo will be open to trade visitors on Wednesday, 20 November, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. and on Thursday, 21 November, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

SUNfarming will be presenting its many years of experience and latest projects in the field of Agri-PV at the world's leading trade fair for professional animal husbandry and livestock management. Find out about our global commitment to connecting food & energy and how our solutions are making agriculture more sustainable.
As the leading innovation platform for the global livestock industry, EuroTier offers a comprehensive overview of the latest technologies, standards and solutions for the challenges of today and tomorrow.

For appointments during the trade fair, please contact Mrs Janine Breitenfeld:
📞 +49 (0)3362 8859 129
📧 j.breitenfeld(at)sunfarming.de

We look forward to your visit!

The anniversary celebration to mark the 20th anniversary of SUNfarming was an outstanding event. Founder Peter Schrum and co-founder Martin Tauschke celebrated this significant milestone together with the SUNfarming team and guests from business and politics under a balmy summer sky, directly on the banks of the Spree.

Greetings from Minister Steinbach

A special highlight of the evening was the speech by Prof. Dr Jörg Steinbach, Minister for Economic Affairs, Labour and Energy of the State of Brandenburg, who personally congratulated and conveyed warm greetings from Minister President Dietmar Woidke. Minister Steinbach emphasised the impressive development of SUNfarming over the last two decades and highlighted the company's important role in the energy transition and for the state of Brandenburg.

Thanks to all guests

Peter Schrum and Martin Tauschke thanked everyone who accompanied SUNfarming on this trip. ‘What an evening! Many thanks to everyone who made this milestone so special,’ says Schrum.

The celebration offered a successful mix of a relaxed summer party and a worthy anniversary, during which the importance of SUNfarming as an innovator in the field of renewable energies was honoured. An evening that perfectly rounded off the last 20 years of the company and looked to a promising, renewable future.

Steinhöfel, 28 August 2024 - SUNfarming GmbH (the leading developer and investor for agrivoltaic systems in Germany) is working with SPIE (the independent European market leader for multi-technical services in the energy and communications sectors) to build the substation for green electricity from Europe's largest agrivoltaic project ‘Klimapark Steinhöfel’. This extends across eight districts and will connect a total installed capacity of up to 753 megawatt peak (MWp) to the grid. The plant with a total of four transformers will ensure that the energy generated is reliably fed into the existing high-voltage grid of the regional distribution grid operator E.DIS via 110-kilovolt cable systems.

The Steinhöfel climate park is a lighthouse project in the photovoltaic sector and combines sustainable energy generation with genuine agricultural production on an area of around 500 hectares. Innovative designs and technologies enable efficient and sustainable dual use of the agricultural land with light and rainwater management under the DIN SPEC-compliant bifacial glass-glass PV modules at a minimum height of 2.10 metres. This dual utilisation has lasting positive effects on animal welfare and husbandry, biodiversity, CO2 reduction, groundwater protection and agricultural yield security on the sandy soils in this region, which have been difficult to cultivate up to now. SUNfarming developed the agricultural concept for the Steinhöfel climate park in close cooperation with an agricultural consultancy for local farms and local farmers and brought it to the planning permission stage within a four-year development period. Once the agri-PV systems have been built, the agricultural land will be used as perennial fodder production areas and as temporary portion pastures for calf and heifer rearing.

SPIE is providing all services for this project, from planning permission and implementation planning to the entire procurement of materials for the substation, primary and secondary planning, installation and commissioning. ‘With our technical solutions, we enable the integration of renewable energies and thus create the infrastructural prerequisites for the energy transition and a climate-friendly future,’ says Burkhard Sager, Head of the High Voltage division at SPIE Germany & Central Europe. ‘We are pooling our decades of experience to realise this complex project,’ adds Hannes Weinreich, Head of the Green Substations department in SPIE Germany & Central Europe's High Voltage division. ‘The main challenge here is the tight schedule, in which many work steps have to dovetail precisely for a project of this magnitude to succeed

‘The Steinhöfel Climate Park is the largest SUNfarming pioneer project, which we have successfully developed in just under four years with the statute resolutions in all districts,’ explains Martin Tauschke, co-founder and Managing Director of SUNfarming. ‘We can only realise this ambitious project thanks to the very good and close cooperation with the municipality of Steinhöfel, the citizens of the region, the Oder-Spree district, our agricultural landlords and our technical partners.’ SUNfarming has been developing and researching its own Agri-PV systems for more than 10 years. ‘Our agri-PV solutions convince farmers and investors alike,’ explains Edith Brasche, Managing Director of Project Development at SUNfarming. ‘We are currently developing several gigawatts of agrivoltaic systems - for use in crop and fruit growing as well as for keeping suckler cows and calves, poultry and fallow deer. The Steinhöfel climate park is part of our research to prove that agrivoltaic systems protect the environment, nature and groundwater against climate change and bring real added value to rural regions,’ says Brasche.
Work on the substation is expected to begin in the third quarter of 2025, with commissioning planned for the second quarter of 2026. The first parts of the Agri-PV park in Steinhöfel will be connected directly to the grid via the substation once it is commissioned.

As a driver of the energy transition, E.DIS Netz GmbH is proud to contribute its expertise and support to this pioneering project. As a long-standing supporter and driver of the energy transition in the region, E.DIS Netz GmbH is significantly involved in providing the grid connection at the Steinhöfel substation, which serves as the hub for feeding green electricity from Europe's largest agri-solar project. ‘Our partnership in this project underlines our ongoing commitment to developing innovative solutions for a sustainable energy supply,’ emphasises Petra Kortenkamp, Head of Individual Customers at E.DIS Netz GmbH. ‘For over two years, we have been intensively involved in the planning and realisation of the technical grid connection, which enables the renewable energy generated to be efficiently integrated into the grid. Our focus here is on a forward-looking and secure energy infrastructure.’ E.DIS Netz GmbH sees this project not only as a significant investment in the regional energy industry, but also as an important step towards a climate-neutral future. ‘This project impressively demonstrates how collaboration and technological innovation can pave the way for a sustainable energy future.
‘This project is an impressive demonstration of how collaboration and technological innovation can pave the way for a sustainable energy future. We are determined to further strengthen our contribution to the energy transition and to promote and implement innovative projects that drive the energy transition forward,’ adds Petra Kortenkamp.

The forum brought together a variety of companies connected with Schleswig-Holstein Netz AG (SH-Netz) – from pure feeders to battery project developers to municipal representatives. However, the majority of attendees were feeders. The main goal of the forum was to facilitate mutual acquaintance, understand the current situation of SH-Netz, and work together on solutions. Additionally, SH-Netz's plans and roadmap for the coming years and decades were presented, including the future grid development in Schleswig-Holstein.

Some of the exciting information shared during the forum included SH-Netz's ambitious goals for 2024. SH-Netz plans to connect an additional 2000 MW. The three essential components of their target grid are:

1. Grid Coupling Points: Over 20 new 380/110 kV substations with a capacity of around 1 GW
2. 110 kV Overhead Lines: 950 km of new 110 kV overhead lines
3. 110 kV Substations: 100 new 110/20 kV substations

However, grid expansion also brings significant challenges, including long approval times of 2-4 years, skilled labor shortages, material delivery times of over 3 years, and land acquisition times of 1-3 years. Additionally, the planning basis is complex due to unpredictable feeder requests and load fluctuations. In addition to grid expansion, SH-Netz is significantly increasing the number of annual connections. Currently, 104,700 installations are connected to the grid, and a yearly increase of over 50,000 installations is forecasted for 2024-2026.

SUNfarming looks forward to working together with SH-Netz and other partners to successfully implement these ambitious plans and further advance the energy transition in Schleswig-Holstein.