aventron has sold its shares in the Norwegian hydropower business. The Swiss green electricity producer is thus withdrawing completely from Norway and will in future concentrate its activities in Switzerland, Germany, France, Italy and Spain.

The sale is based on a strategic decision to concentrate its activities more geographically. Market analyses – for example, regarding the critical scale per country and proximity to Switzerland, where the majority of shareholders with a public service obligation are based – reached a clear conclusion: the advantages of focusing on markets close to Switzerland outweigh the disadvantages of reduced geographical and regulatory diversification. In these five core markets, aventron is well placed to further develop its portfolio, apply its expertise in hydro, wind and solar energy in a targeted manner, and deepen its activities along the value chain.

aventron had already taken the first step last year with the sale of its two Norwegian wind farms. Operating in Norway since 2014, the company built up a portfolio there comprising 42 hydroelectric power stations with an installed capacity of 143 megawatts, in addition to the wind farms. In 2021, a significant milestone was achieved through the merger with Nordic Power, a portfolio of 15 hydroelectric power stations owned by Aberdeen Investments. This significantly strengthened the company’s scale and diversification. Entering the market was part of the strategy at the time to spread electricity generation across several countries and across hydro, wind and solar technologies.

Since then, the market environment and the energy policy framework have changed – particularly in Norway, where electricity prices have remained persistently low and are expected to stay that way in the long term due to the political framework. In the core markets, however, the increasing electrification of energy consumption is opening up new growth opportunities. Switzerland plays a special role in this regard: the energy crisis has highlighted the importance of domestic electricity generation and reduced reliance on imports. Furthermore, the federal government’s initiatives to accelerate the roll-out of solar and wind energy are creating new scope for projects. At aventron, these include the alpine photovoltaic plants Sidenplangg (8.1 megawatts) and Sedrun Solar (18.3 megawatts), as well as the Sur Grati wind farm (25.2 megawatts) in the canton of Vaud.

“With this sale, we are restructuring our portfolio and channelling our resources into areas where we can develop projects efficiently and operate them in the long term. A key focus is on renewable projects that enable additional domestic electricity generation, contribute to winter supply and support the transformation of the energy system,” says Eric Wagner, CEO of aventron.