Portuguese oil company Galp has struck a €2.2bn ($2.4bn) deal with ACS group to buy a 2.9GW portfolio of generation assets in Spain that it claimed will make it “the largest Iberian solar power player”.

In a statement Galp said it was buying over 900MW of operational PV plants, plus a pipeline of 2GW under development. The projects all have secured access to the grid and are expected online by 2023.

The company said the transaction is in line with its strategic goal of allocating around 40% of its future investments to business opportunities related to the energy transition, including developing renewable energy opportunities.

Galp chief executive Carlos Gomes da Silva said: “This transaction underpins Galp’s standing as an integrated energy company, bolstering a competitive portfolio of renewables and new businesses as set out in our strategic guidelines.”

Galp said completion of the transaction, which is subject to certain conditions, is expected during the second quarter of this year.

Other oil players in the region, such as Respol and Cepsa, have made recent moves to increase their renewables involvement. Repsol said last month it planned to become a leading international player in renewables having sanctioned 1.6GW of unspecified further investments, likely to be in Spanish onshore wind and solar, bringing its total portfolio to 5.6GW.

Cepsa said this week it would increase its renewables focus by establishing a 50-50 joint venture with Abu Dhabi’s Masdar to develop wind and solar projects in Spain and Portugal.

Industry body SolarPower Europe believes the booming Spanish market might add up to 19.5GW of new PV by 2023 and is among the top seven PV market prospects globally, driven by supportive policies and emerging opportunities for corporate renewable PPAs.