Invenergy

Greece keen to utilize American RES technology; funds eyeing market

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The government wants to utilize latest American technology for more recent RES and RES-related domains such as offshore wind farms and energy storage, the energy ministry’s secretary-general Alexandra Sdoukou noted yesterday during a meeting with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and other US officials in Thessaloniki.

For quite some time now, American renewable energy producers, institutional investors and funds have been scanning the Greek market for RES market opportunities.

A complete framework for offshore wind farms in Greece will be presented early in 2021, Sdoukou pointed out during yesterday’s meeting.

Major offshore wind farm development has been achieved off the American west coast, featuring, like the Mediterranean, waters of sudden depth, ideal conditions for the development of offshore wind farms.

US firms such as Invenergy, one of North America’s biggest wind energy producers; 547 Energy, a RES platform for Quantum Energy Partners; National Energy; and wind energy equipment manufacturer General Electric, have displayed a rising interest in the Greek market.

Besides RES and RES-related companies, a number of American funds are seeking investment opportunities in Greece.

At least ten US funds appear to be keeping a close watch on power utility PPC as a result of the corporation’s strategic turn to renewable energy.

They include Bell Rock Capital, Sephora Investment Advisors, Waterwill Capital Management, Cleargate Capital, Golden Tree Asset Management, Helm Investment Partners, Knighthead Capital Management, Craftsman Management, Colt Capital Partners and Kirkoswald Αsset Μanagement.

 

 

 

 

 

Investors keen on offshore wind energy parks, framework absent

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A growing number of major renewable energy companies from abroad appear keen to develop offshore wind energy parks in Greece but the absence of legal framework covering this RES sub-sector is preventing any progress.

Representatives of at least two such foreign energy companies have spent time in Athens over the past few days for meetings with local authorities to explore the country’s offshore wind project prospects, energypress understands.

One of these, Copenhagen Offshore Partners, a Danish enterprise specializing in offshore wind projects, is believed to be eyeing the north Aegean area.

The other, US firm Invenergy, has been involved in recent meetings here to discuss the development of offshore wind projects in the south Aegean.

The RES sub-sector’s prospects in Greece were also explored last year by Norway’s Equinor. An undisclosed Spanish company is also believed to have looked into offshore wind project prospects.

Strong and dry seasonal winds appearing in the Aegean Sea in the summer, known as meltemia, are a major advantage for offshore wind projects in the area as they could provide support to the grid during summer, when electricity generation levels at onshore parks are lower.

Greek power grid operator IPTO is particularly interested in this prospect as it promises to reinforce grid security.

Also, the development of offshore wind energy facilities could play a key role in helping the country achieve ambitious renewable energy targets included in a revised National Energy and Climate Plan.

US renewable energy giant Invenergy to open Athens office

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Invenergy, one of the six biggest owners of wind energy parks in the USA and the leading wind energy developer in North America, is preparing to set up an office in Athens for renewable energy investments in the Greek market.

An international player also operating in Mexico, Latin America, Japan, the UK and Poland, Invenergy has developed some 150 projects with a total capacity of 24,100 MW, covering the electricity needs of 4.77 million households, according to the company website.

The Chicago-headquartered company, which employs 950 staff members at posts around the world, had opened up an Athens office in the past but it was eventually shut down as a result of a lack of domestic activity in the RES sector.

Invenergy maintains a diverse and rapidly growing portfolio which, besides wind energy, also includes solar energy, natural gas-fueled power stations and energy storage.

The company is currently looking to recruit an international development manager for its Athens office with responsibilities including development of renewable energy and gas projects, mainly in Greece, as well as business growth support for southeast Europe and, possibly, other regions, Invenergy posted on its website just days ago.

Development minister Adonis Georgiadis, commenting shortly after Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis’ recent trip to Washington, noted – without naming – that one of the USA’s biggest renewable energy companies was preparing to enter the Greek market for battery production.

Strong US interest can be expected in local RES market, ambassador tells

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American investor interest can be expected to be strong for opportunities in Greece’s renewable energy market, the US Ambassador to Greece, Geoffrey R. Pyatt, has told an American-Hellenic Chamber of Commerce event, at its Thessaloniki branch, for the New Year.

Though the ambassador did not elaborate, he presumably had a number of companies in mind.

Tesla has already revealed its interest in the Greek market through a microgrid proposal for the country’s non-interconnected islands dubbed Powerpack. It is based on solar panels and large-capacity batteries. Tesla officials met with Greece’s energy minister Giorgos Stathakis early last month to discuss the issue.

Another highly-ranked US diplomat, speaking on the sidelines of the Thessaloniki event, informed that beyond Tesla, further American interest in Greece’s RES market should also be expected from a major Chicago-based company active in wind energy production and storage. An additional one or two US companies could also enter the picture, according to this diplomat.

Three major companies active in wind energy production and storage are based in Chicago. Acciona, one of the three, has operated two wind energy parks with a total installed capacity of 48.45 MW at the Panachaic mountain range in Greece’s northern Peloponnese since 2006.

Akuo Energy, a French-American venture operating 44 projects in various parts of Europe, is believed to have renewed its interest in Greece’s RES market following activity here in the past.

Invenergy, the third Chicago-based firm, has maintained an office in Athens but shown no signs of any local activity since 2007. Pyatt, the US Ambassador of Greece, recently mentioned visiting the Invenergy headquarters in Chicago last October.