Germany’s ABO Wind enters local RES market via Creta Farms deal

German company ABO Wind, one of Europe’s most experienced renewable energy project developers, has acquired 51 percent stakes in two local RES firms, Energiaki Thessalias and Farma Energiaki, via an agreement with charcuterie company Creta Farms, whose major shareholders, the siblings Emmanouil and Konstantinos Domazakis, also hold stakes in the two RES firms.

Energiaki Thessalias and Farma Energiaki took part in a RES auction held by RAE, the Regulatory Authority for Energy, on July 2 to secure remuneration for solar energy project capacities. ABO Wind then entered the equity make-ups of the two RES firms with 51 percent stakes.

The Domazakis brothers held an 81 percent stake in Creta Farms and 50 percent each in Energiaki Thessalias and Farma Energiaki prior to the agreement with ABO Wind. The Creta Farms siblings now each hold 24.5 percent stakes in the group’s two RES firms. Energiaki Thessalias and Farma Energiaki already hold PV power production licenses.

ABO Wind has developed 650 projects – wind turbines, solar energy stations and biogas units – with a total of capacity of at least 1,400 MW. The German company employs 500 persons, is active in 18 countries around the world, and was founded 22 years ago.

Energiaki Thessalias and Farma Energiaki entered a category for PV projects of between one and 20 MW at last month’s RES auction. The two firms are behind four solar energy projects planned for development in mid-north Greece’s Trikala region. Three of these projects are each planned to have capacities of 9.89 MW and the fourth 8.3 MW.

The Domazakis brothers and ABO Wind, who have informed RES of the new equity line-ups at Energiaki Thessalias and Farma Energiaki, secured 37.97 MW of 52.92 MW offered by the auction’s 1-20 MW solar energy category. A total of 14 PV station projects took part in this auction category.

Energiaki Thessalias and Farma Energiaki secured prices of 62.97 and 62.99 euros per MWh from an auction starting price of 80 euros per MWh.