The Axel Johnson Group enters agreement on building Sweden's largest solar parks

Axfood has signed an agreement (Power Purchase Agreement *) for the construction of a solar park with an annual normal production of around 40 GWh, while Axel Johnson, together with the group companies Axel Johnson International, Dustin, Kicks, Martin & Servera, STC and Åhléns have entered into an agreement of a park with an annual production of just over 30 GWh. These agreements are also in partnership with Alight, Sweden's leading PPA supplier in solar energy. The parks are planned to be built in energy areas 3 and 4.

Martin & Servera has previously announced that they have signed an agreement with Alight for a solar park of 19 GWh in Skurup. The construction of the solar park in Skurup is in full swing and about 18,000 of the more than 35,000 solar panels have been installed so far.

Axel Johnson has previously invested in solar energy through AxSol, which is a partner in, among others, Alight. With this investment, the Group also shows, as a buyer of energy, that solar energy is to be seen as a competitive and growing part of the energy system of the future.

Mia Brunell Livfors, President and CEO, Axel Johnson:
“Axel Johnson strives to be a strong and positive force for change in society, and an expression of that is our active work to reduce climate impact. It is extensive and spans the entire value chain. A key area is to ensure a climate-friendly energy supply. Therefore, we are now taking an important and concrete step to lower our climate footprint by adding renewable energy to the market. With this step, we are also contributing to a significant move forward for the Swedish market for large-scale solar energy.”

Harald Överholm, CEO, Alight:
“To watch a large Swedish corporate group turn words into action and take the lead in the transition to green energy is fantastic. I hope that more companies will see the benefits of taking control of their energy consumption and, like Axel Johnson, create more renewable energy through their own solar parks.”

Alight and the Axel Johnson companies cooperate through a so-called PPA (Power Purchase Agreement) where Alight owns, builds, installs and manages the operation of the plant, while the companies undertake to buy all the electricity produced for at least ten years.

Martin & Servera's solar park in Skurup is expected to be completed in Q2 2022, while the Axel Johnson and Axfood parks are expected to be completed during the first half of 2023. Permit applications for the latter two parks are being processed.

For more information, please contact:
David Salsbäck, Director of Communications and Sustainability
david.salsback@axeljohnson.se
073-389 00 90

PPA, Power Purchase Agreement, is an electricity purchase agreement where the buyer undertakes to buy the electricity produced at a solar plant at a fixed price to reduce its electricity costs, reduce environmental impact, protect the company from volatility in the electricity market and enable production of new renewable electricity.

About solar energy in Sweden
Solar power continues to increase in Sweden. Last year, the number of grid-connected facilities increased by 50 percent, from 44,000 to 66,000. Installed power is now over 1 GW. Of these, 40 percent, 400 MW, were installed in 2020. The total installed capacity was 1.09 GW at the end of 2020, compared with 0.698 GW in 2019.

[Source Swedish Energy Agency]

About Alight
Alight was founded in 2013 and is a leader in Power Purchase Agreements for solar energy in the Nordic region. The company uses solar energy to help companies save money and achieve their sustainability goals. Alight's ambition is to contribute to the UN's Global Goals by building over 1 GW of new solar energy by 2025.

*Text translated from the original Swedish. In case of discrepancies, the Swedish version prevails.