RES auction produces record-low bid, by PPC Renewables

A mixed RES auction staged yesterday by RAE, the Regulatory Authority for Energy, produced a record-low bid of 49.11 euros per MWh, submitted by PPC Renewables for a 200-MW solar park in Kozani, northern Greece.

A total of five major RES projects – four solar farms and one wind energy farm – secured tariffs at the session.

The auction’s average bidding price was 51.59 euros per MWh, far lower than previous levels.

The session’s only wind energy project, ENTEKA’s 153-MW facility in Vermio, northern Greece, struck a record low price, for the wind-energy category, of 54.7 euros per MWh. This project involves funding from US fund Quantum Energy Partners.

A 70-MW solar park project on EREN’s portfolio secured a price of 50.68 euros per MWh. A 42-MW park by EDF emerged from the session with a price of 50.87 euros per MWh. Also, Spes Solaris, a member of the Panagakos corporate group, secured a price of 54.82 euros per MWh for a 37.94-MW solar park project.

Four projects – two solar and two wind – failed to secure prices. ENTEKA missed out with two wind farm projects measuring 72 MW and 63 MW. A 50-MW solar park by PPC Renewables and a 23-MW solar park by EDF also missed out.

 

New wind turbine connections to grid rise by 7.2% in 2018

A total of 103 new wind turbine facilities with a combined capacity of 191.6 MW were connected to the country’s grid in 2018, a 7.2 percent year-on-year increase, the ELETAEN figures showed, according to latest data released by ELETAEN, the Greek Wind Energy Association.

EREN, the renewable energy group founded and headed by Greek-French entrepreneur Paris Mouratoglou, has emerged as a new entry in Greece’s top-five list of RES investors with investments offering a total capacity of 210.9 MW, a 7.5 percent market share.

EREN, which recently established a strategic agreement with Total, is now ranked fifth, replacing Enel Green Power, which has dropped to sixth place.

The top-five list’s four other enterprises held their places. Terna Energy leads with 536.1 MW, a 19 percent share; El. Tech Anemos is ranked second with 285.6 MW (10.1%), Iberdrola Rokas is third with 250.7 MW (8.9%); and EDF EN Hellas is placed fourth with 238.2 MW (8.4%)., according to the ELETAEN data.

CF Ventus, a venture of the Fortress Fund, has emerged as Greece’s new RES market arrival following its acquisition of wind energy parks from the Libra group. CF Ventus is continuing to invest in the sector.

Facilities at old wind energy parks with a total capacity of 15.43 MW operated by PPC Renewables, primarily in Crete and the North Aegean, were uninstalled in 2018.  Work on their replacements has already begun.

Vestas continued to dominate Greece’s wind turbine supply market, providing an impressive 78.2 percent of all turbines installed in 2018.

As for the spatial distribution of wind capacity in Greece, the central mainland continues to be ranked first with 907 MW (32%) and is followed by the Peloponnese with 550 MW (19%) and eastern Macedonia-Thrace with 375 MW (13%).

 

Norton Rose Fulbright advises on local RES market’s largest refinancing

Global law firm Norton Rose Fulbright has advised Eurobank Ergasias and Alpha Bank on the €202 million non-recourse refinancing of a renewable energy projects portfolio operated by three subsidiaries of Total Eren, in Greece, it has announced in a statement.

The portfolio consists of five wind parks and seven solar photovoltaic parks with a total installed capacity of 162.4 MW, the company statement noted. This is the largest refinancing in the Greek renewable energy market, it added.

The multi-jurisdictional Norton Rose Fulbright team was led by Athens-based partner and head of the Greek energy practice, Dimitris Assimakis, with assistance from of counsel Dimitris Rampos, senior associates Minas Kitsilis and George Palogos and associates Christina Korinthios, George Asimakopoulos and Sylvia Betrosian.  The team also included lawyers from the firm’s Luxembourg, Paris and London offices, including Luxembourg-based partner Stéphane Braun and of counsel Cyril d’Herbes, Paris-based partner Anne Lapierre, of counsel Eran Chvika and London-based partner Daniel Franks.

Dimitris Assimakis commented: “We are delighted to have advised Eurobank Ergasias and Alpha Bank on the largest refinancing ever in the Greek renewable energy market. This transaction illustrates both banks’ strong commitment to the renewables sector, Total Eren’s market-leading position, along with the improving conditions of the banking sector and overall economy in Greece.”

 

Eren, developing 60 MW of projects, set for RES auctions, seeking takeovers

The renewable energy corporate group EREN is developing into one of the local market’s most dynamic players, especially following the Total group’s recent acquisition of a stake in the enterprise.

The group’s intention to increase investment activity in the Greek market, expressed in September when EREN Renewable Energy reached its agreement with Total, is being followed through with action.

According to energypress sources, EREN Renewable Energy, focused on solar and wind energy projects, is currently developing wind energy facilities with a capacity of roughly 60 MW in the Evia and Boetia regions.

The firm is also making plans for new projects of considerable capacity ahead of Greek RES auctions for wind and solar project capacities to be staged by this coming summer.

According to sources, EREN Hellas, the group’s local subsidiary, is also seeking to bolster its Greek portfolio through takeovers. The subsidiary is currently engaged in talks with entrepreneurs holding interests in local wind and solar projects either already operating or at a mature licensing process stage.

EREN Hellas aims to increase its portfolio of operational projects to a level of between 320 and 350 MW, from approximately 200 MW at present.

Founded in 2012, EREN Renewable Energy, the parent company, currently holds a 650-MW portfolio, Greece being a key market. EREN Renewable Energy aims to develop 3 GW of new RES projects over the next five years. The capital available through the partnership with Total constitutes a key part of this growth plan.

EREN to bolster Athens base for wider regional coordination

Renewable energy corporate group EREN, co-founded and co-run by Greek-French entrepreneur Pâris Mouratoglou, plans to increase its personnel and activities at the company’s Greek base as part of a plan to establish it as a coordinating center for the company interests in the wider southeast Mediterranean region, especially the Middle East and Balkans.

Despite the ongoing Greek recession and uncertainty surrounding local investments, EREN is continuing to expand its presence in Greece, both in renewable energy production and the natural resources efficiency field.

The success of the corporate group’s relatively recently established local subsidiary, EREN Hellas, has justified the company’s decision to operate here.

“We’re bolstering our team, investing in the recruitment of new scientific personnel, with the aim of establishing Athens as the base for coordinating the group’s penetration into new markets,” Kosmas Fessas, managing director of EREN’s Greek subsidiary told energypress.

Following the launch of two new wind-energy parks, totaling 82 MW, in Boetia (Viotia), slightly northwest of Athens, the company has begun preliminary work to develop additional wind-energy parks, measuring 120 MW, in Boetia as well as the island of Evia, just northeast of the wider Athens area. Once these projects are launched, in 2017, EREN’s Greek RES capacity will total roughly 300 MW.

Mouratoglou served as an executive at EDF EN, a RES subsidiary of EDF, before departing to co-establish EREN in 2012. Despite its relatively recent arrival, EREN has made significant investments and acquisitions around the world.