This week, Yeager Energy announced the acquisition of Wayland Energy. It is the second acquisition for the company, which earlier this year also acquired a majority stake in Aardwarmte Vogelaer. The acquisitions stand out in a market with potential but also with significant challenges. How does Yeager Energy view this?
"We believe in the heat transition," says CEO Robin Hamersma. "The heat transition is going to happen one way or another." He notes that the narrative is changing. "And rightly so, in my opinion. The focus on sustainability is now increasingly about energy security. With geothermal energy, you are less dependent on foreign countries."
It is a long-term vision with future prospects, but in the shorter term, there are also challenges. Political fluctuations, nitrogen issues, grid congestion, lengthy permit processes, slow realization of heat networks, and the absence of the Collective Heat Act.
Greenhouse horticulture as a growth market for geothermal energy
The issue of heat networks has recently been frequently mentioned in reports on why the realization of geothermal projects is challenging. This mainly concerns the built environment. The greenhouse horticulture sector has already realized dozens of projects. That is also why Yeager Energy, with its recent acquisitions, is focused on the greenhouse horticulture sector. "The greenhouse horticulture sector has truly pioneered geothermal energy. The advantage is that in this B2B market, you are less dependent on politics regarding the development of heat networks. For us, the greenhouse horticulture sector is a growth market."
Not that Yeager Energy, with its portfolio including Aardwarmte Delfland in the Westland as one of its projects, doesn't also have projects focused on the built environment. As an example, Robin mentions the Purmerend 3 project. "This project is unique in itself because there is already a heat network here, dating back to the 1980s." The network initially ran solely on natural gas, now in combination with biomass, and Yeager Energy now wants to add geothermal energy as a sustainable heat source to the network in collaboration with Stadsverwarming Purmerend and the municipality. A geothermal project must be realized for this purpose.
Accelerating projects
The realization of geothermal projects is costly. For several greenhouse horticulture projects, the time has come for new investments. It helps when a new party with financial strength and sector knowledge steps in. "The recent acquisitions of Aardwarmte Vogelaer and Wayland Energy were initiated by the seller," says Robin.
Yeager Energy critically examines potential investment opportunities. "We prefer companies with existing systems, but which also have the possibility to expand with projects still in the pipeline."
At Aardwarmte Vogelaer, Yeager Energy acquired a majority share, but the growers who set up the project remain shareholders. In the case of Wayland Energy, Yeager Energy takes over the entire company, including the five projects Wayland Energy was working on. These are four greenhouse horticulture projects in Oostland and one project in Leiden, focused on the built environment. "We find this a very nice portfolio and are essentially already working to accelerate these projects within our capabilities." The first results should be visible by 2026.
© Wayland Energy Geothermal installation Warmoeziersweg Bergschenhoek, from Wayland Energy's portfolio
Westland
In addition to the already mentioned challenges, Robin also increasingly notices problems with grid congestion in geothermal development. "We are also encountering this now in Purmerend." Westland is the only region in the Netherlands where there are still no problems with grid congestion, due to early investments in infrastructure.
It is also a reason that Yeager Energy, supported by the commitment of over 100 million euros received earlier this year from investment company Pioneer Point Partners, is looking at geothermal projects in the Westland region. "Our focus is on the greenhouse horticulture sector. Connecting the built environment can always happen in the long term." The recent acquisitions significantly increase Yeager Energy's operational assets with 2 producing assets and lay 'a solid foundation' for further growth, in addition to the 4 licenses Yeager Energy already has in the Netherlands.
For more information:
Yeager Energy 
info@yeager-energy.com
www.yeager-energy.com