Iberdrola walks away from 53-MW Manowo-Wyszebórz solar project, leaving Novavis in search of a new partner

• Iberdrola quits the 53-MW Manowo-Wyszebórz solar project in Poland, leaving developer Novavis to find new investors for the RTB-stage plant slated for completion in 2027.

Spanish utility Iberdrola’s Polish subsidiary has exercised its contractual right to withdraw from the 53.7-MW Manowo-Wyszebórz photovoltaic project in Poland’s West Pomeranian voivodeship, developer Novavis Group disclosed in a market filing on 22 May 2025. The exit ends a collaboration agreement signed in 2022 under which Iberdrola Renewables Polska was to co-finance construction once the scheme reached ready-to-build (RTB) status.

According to Novavis, the green-field project—spread across about 70 ha near the villages of Manowo and Wyszebórz, roughly 15 km south-east of Koszalin—already holds a final environmental permit, zoning approval and a grid-connection pact for 53.46 MW. The developer had targeted RTB by the end of 2025 and commercial operation in 2027, and says those milestones remain “technically feasible” as it opens talks with prospective investors and EPC partners.

Iberdrola did not spell out its reasons, but sector analysts point to rising EPC costs and increasing congestion on Poland’s 110-kV grid, which is prompting many foreign sponsors to prioritise larger clusters with co-located storage or firm power-purchase agreements. Novavis stressed that, under the 2022 framework deal, all preparatory costs and milestone fees paid by Iberdrola are non-refundable, so the withdrawal has no adverse balance-sheet impact for the Warsaw-listed developer.

The Spanish group remains active in Poland with 261 MW of operating renewables—chiefly wind—and another 98 MW pipeline it bought from Augusta Energy, plus early-stage Baltic-Sea offshore concessions. It still calls Poland a “growth platform”, but is reallocating capital toward projects with long-term PPAs and toward its wider €9 billion clean-energy plan for 2025-2027.

Manowo-Wyszebórz joins a growing list of Polish utility-scale PV ventures hunting fresh capital after international sponsors have pulled back. Consultancy IEO estimates that, of the 12 GW of large solar awarded in recent auctions, only 45 % has reached the construction-permit stage, mainly because of grid-capacity constraints. Nonetheless, industry insiders say the solid permitting base built by Novavis makes the project a likely candidate for restructuring or an outright sale rather than abandonment.