🌞 A Day of Fun and Family at Sonnedix! 🌿 Recently, we had the pleasure of welcoming our employees' children to the office for a day of learning, creativity, and joy! The kids had a chance to see where their parents work and take part in activities designed just for them. A big thanks to our friends from "Oh! Seeds" for an inspiring urban gardening workshop and a talk on caring for the environment. 🌱 At Sonnedix, we know that building a strong community means supporting both our employees and their families. This event strengthened our bonds and brought smiles to all ages. Thank you to everyone who made it a fantastic day!
🏗 Powering through in Portugal We're excited to share that construction of our Oasis portfolio in Portugal is progressing rapidly. The four plants, located in the Douro and Alto Tâmega e Sousa regions, will have a combined capacity of 227MW and produce approximately 340GWh of clean energy annually. The team is geared up and working hard to reach the goal of completion. Here's a rundown of where we are at with each project: ☀ Douro: 70% of piles, 55% of tables, and 30% of modules and inverters installed, while the HV substation is 85% complete ☀ Bustelo: Civil works complete, 90% of ramming, 70% of structures, distribution line 45% complete, and 25% of modules mounted ☀ Lordelo: 85% of civil works done, 40% of ramming, 25% of structures mounted, and distribution line 20% complete ☀ Lousada: Site cleared, facilities installed, and ramming started, and distribution line to commence shortly Once complete, the Oasis portfolio will be a major milestone for our OneTeam and for Portugal, as it continues to realise its renewable energy potential.
Sonnedix launches DEI Manifesto to 2030 ✊ According to the International Energy Agency, on average, there are 76% fewer women than men working in the energy sector – as a sector, we have a role to play in shifting the dial. At Sonnedix we strive to do exactly this, and have launched our 2024-2030 Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Manifesto. As well as looking forward, it also reflects on our performance since 2020. Some highlights include: ☀ Meeting our goal of hiring 40% women new joiners ☀ Hiring nearly 50 people from under-represented groups to take up fully paid internships As a company working towards building a brighter future, we know our workforce needs to reflect exactly that. Our 2024-2030 DEI roadmap will continue to evolve and adapt to the needs of our people and the amazing talent out there. As our CEO Axel Thiemann puts it, “diverse and inclusive workplaces are not only more innovative and productive, but also more resilient and adaptable in the face of uncertainty.”
Did you know that solar and crop farms can simultaneously produce clean energy and a healthy harvest? This is known as agrivoltaics, or “agriPV”, which combines agriculture and solar energy production to maximise land use and protect crops – while generating clean energy. We are doing just that with the development of an agriPV plant project where cotton will grow. ☀ The 227 MW Aliai project will be one of the first advanced Italian agriPV plants of this scale 🌍 It will span approximately 420 hectares on the island of Sicily, in the southernmost tip of Italy 🌿 Elevated modules over 4 metres high will support the farming of organic cotton, which will be used by fashion company SOFINE Sonnedix is committed to supporting and preserving biodiversity, and agriPV offers an innovative and sustainable solution.
🏳️🌈 💖 Sonnedix celebrates Pride Month Our brilliant OneTeam celebrated Pride Month in June, with several activities and initiatives held across our global offices, including: 🌈 In Poland we held a Queer Book meeting, where the team discussed the relationship between language and inclusion 🌈 Members of our Polish team also attended Warsaw Queer Week film screening and at Warsaw Pride Parade 🌈 Sonnedix Chile held a fascinating virtual talk on LGBTQIA+ history and rights 🌈 In London the team tested their knowledge in a Pride Month quiz 🌈 Meanwhile, our Spanish team held a Pride movie event – equipped with rainbow wristbands! We rounded out the month with a global event for our entire OneTeam, where more than 100 employees around the world came together to hear speaker Matt Lindley discuss his experiences as one of the first gay pilots in the RAF. We are so grateful for his vulnerability in what was a very powerful talk. As Matt said, “the standard you look past is the standard you accept”, which serves as a reminder of our responsibility to set the tone for our workplace culture by promoting inclusivity and demonstrating the strength to stand up for others. We loved coming together this month to celebrate and mark what is an important occasion for LGBTQ+ rights. A big thank you to everyone who has made these events possible and celebrated throughout the month!
This month our team collected the award for Europe Solar Deal of the Year Award 2023🏆 David Flory, our EVP & Global Head of Project Finance, attended Proximo Infra's Global 2024 event in Athens, where Sonnedix was awarded the Europe Solar Deal of the Year for our innovative EUR500 million loan facility. David also spoke on a panel ‘Shining Investments – The Solar Panel’ to discuss how we can continue to facilitate investment in solar. Part of our stellar team who contributed to this success and were also in attendance Daniel Machuca Reyes, Head of Project Finance, Europe and Andreas Christodoulou, Project Finance Associate. Closed in December 2023, the non-recourse facility allows Sonnedix to cluster, contract and construct our pipeline of renewable projects across Europe and the UK more efficiently and flexibly. It was a big team effort, and we’d like to extend our congratulations to Sarah Brogan and the whole Sonnedix OneTeam involved and our lenders: BBVA, CIBC, NatWest Group, Rabobank, Banco Sabadell and Santander, our legal advisors Watson Farley & Williams and our model advisor EY.
Sonnedix is a proud signatory of SolarPower Europe's Green Deal joint statement. 📣 Over 400 cross-sector organisations are calling on EU leaders to confirm the Green Deal as a strategic priority in the next EU mandate. The EU Green Deal is the foundation of a competitive, secure, modern and efficient Europe. 🤝 Together, signatories from across the economy, remind EU leaders that delivering the EU Green Deal is the best strategy for securing Europe's competitiveness and prosperity, providing much-needed clarity and stability to Europe's businesses and citizens. Let’s not gamble on our future, let’s build it. Read more about the Green Deal at the link below.
💡The Sonnedix Spotlight!💡 What are the top 3 reasons why our very own Barbara Franceschini loves working at Sonnedix? 💪 New challenges 🙌 Strong team support 🌍 Global collaboration As Commercial Asset Manager of Operations in Milan, Barbara is an invaluable member of our team in Italy driving forward our mission to transform the renewables landscape.
As part of celebrations for Sonnedix’s 15th anniversary this year, we’re delighted to be launching a new series, where we shine a spotlight on some of our incredible OneTeam who are Powering a Bright Future at Sonnedix. One Team is one of our core values, where working together as a diverse organization across the world to achieve our purpose is key. Visit the link below to read more about Natalia’s journey at Sonnedix!
With Davos around the corner, the World Economic Forum has published its Global Risks Report 2024, highlighting that although the environmental challenges that lie ahead are increasing, so is our ability to respond and act meaningfully. The results of the report demonstrate that extreme weather events are the number one long-term risk, caused by critical changes to Earth systems. A key solution to tackling this is to reduce emissions and accelerate the pace of a fair, clean transition. As a dedicated partner of the energy transition, it is our number one priority to be part of the solution, and ensure our renewable projects contribute to overcoming these urgent global risks – so that we secure a brighter future for both people and planet.
