Portfolios of hundreds of megawatts in the RES sector continue to change hands, changing the map of the domestic energy market as a whole, as the main players in these transactions are mainly domestic energy groups that are investing billions of euros to increase their presence in green production. There is also a lot of interest from foreign funds who see opportunities for high returns in the Greek renewable energy market.

refinery

The tone of this new phase into which the renewables market has entered was set last year by the acquisition of Ellactor’s green portfolio by Motor Oil, which placed the Korinth refinery second in the renewables sector behind TERNA Energy with an installed capacity of more than 800 MW and under construction facilities with a capacity of more than 2.3 GW. Following this aggressive move, Motor Oil surprised a second time by announcing an agreement last week to acquire 75% of Unagi from its subsidiary, More. Through this acquisition, More acquired control of 51% of 16 1.9 GW PV parks at various stages of development, and at the same time partnered with PPC Renewables, which acquired control of 49% of the same parks. last year.

From the refining side, it looks like it will be another high-profile acquisition, although the acquisition of 50% of Enel’s portfolio in Greece by the Australian Macquarie fund and the sale of TERNA Energy has been completed for many months. at a slow pace. HELLENiQ ENERGY, through its CEO Andreas Siamisia, has officially expressed interest in acquisitions in the renewable energy sector, two of which, as was recently announced to analysts during the presentation of the results of the first quarter of 2023, will be announced in the coming weeks. HELLENiQ ENERGY is reportedly very close to an agreement with Lightsource bp. The British multinational, in which oil giant BP has a 50% stake, has a total portfolio of 640 MW photovoltaic projects in Greece that it has acquired from Greek company Kiefer, of which 225 MW are under construction. The second acquisition, according to all information, will concern the portfolio of wind projects. A “weighted” portfolio, which will include both wind and other technologies, and not just photovoltaic, is what companies in the sector require, since only in this way can they ensure greater predictability of production and, therefore, management. HELLENiQ ENERGY, as part of the strategy it developed as part of the Vision 2025 program, aims to increase the renewable energy capacity to 1 GW from 341 MW today. In addition to the large photovoltaic park in Kozani, the company’s portfolio also includes a wind farm, with a portfolio under development of 3.1 GW with 55% photovoltaic parks, 19% wind and 27% storage.

The next steps of the two refineries are expected in the Balkan market, where there are interconnections where other energy groups are also deployed, following the example of PPC with its entry into Romania through the acquisition of the Enel portfolio. PPC is also looking at new acquisitions in Bulgaria and Serbia, while in 2022 PPC subsidiary Renewables acquired Volterra wind farms in Greece, and shortly before the end of the year acquired Mytilineos’ PV portfolio of around 210 MW in Romania, as well as a small portfolio (wind and photovoltaic) Piraeus Equity Partners in Greece.

Domestic energy groups and foreign funds are pouring billions into this sector.

Australians

According to market estimates, the transition of the TERNA Energy portfolio to another owner is only a matter of time. The Greek pioneer in the renewables sector with 895.3 MW of installed capacity and over 1.2 GW of projects under construction and another 1.1 GW at an advanced stage of maturity is reportedly very close to reaching a final agreement with Australia’s First Sentier fund. .

Another Australian fund, Macquarie, which controls 49% of DEDDIE and has already entered the Greek renewable market with the acquisition of 100 MW of photovoltaic installations in Drama and a portfolio of 3 GW of projects under development, is ready to increase its presence in the Greek market. . The deal to acquire 50% of the Enel Green Power portfolio in Greece is considered closed before Easter. The deal is currently under consideration by the new management of Mr. Flavio Cattaneo, who replaced Mr. Francesco Starace. Some do not even rule out that the agreement will end with the acquisition of 100% of Enel’s Greek portfolio.

Enel Green Power has a RES portfolio with an installed capacity of 481 MW. About 368 MW are wind farms, 94.2 MW photovoltaic and 19.3 MW hydroelectric. With the completion of the large PV plant in Kozani, the installed capacity is expected to increase to 550 MW this year, with the development portfolio approaching 1.5 GW.

According to the information, mature RES projects in the Greek market are also eyeing other big names of international funds that have not yet been placed in Greece.