Investment Decision: RWE And PPC to Build Huge PV Project in Greece - Pipeline Grows to Around 1,000 MW - Further Projects Planned
Essen, Germany / Athens, Greece - The two energy companies RWE and PPC Renewables, through their joint venture Meton Energy S.A., have taken the investment decision to build a further photovoltaic project in Greece.
The new solar park "Orycheio Dei Amynteo" (Amynteo Cluster III) with a planned capacity of around 450 MWp is to be built in the region of Western Macedonia in northern Greece on the site of the former Amynteo opencast lignite mine. Construction is scheduled to begin in the coming months. Commissioning is expected at the end of 2025. Meton Energy has concluded bilateral electricity supply contracts for the new solar park with PPC and RWE Supply & Trading for a term of 10 years.
EUR 127.7 million of the total investment of EUR 255.4 million for the realisation of the project will be financed from the NextGenerationEU fund of the "Recovery & Resilience Facility (RRF)" as part of the "Greece 2.0" plan. Commercial debt financing totalling EUR 76.6 million was agreed with Alpha Bank S.A., Eurobank S.A. and the National Bank of Greece S.A. for the remaining amount, plus EUR 51.1 million in equity.
The joint venture between RWE Renewables Europe & Australia (51 per cent) and PPC Renewables (49 per cent) is already constructing eight large photovoltaic projects in the region (Amynteo Cluster I and II) with a total capacity of 490 MWp. The plants in these projects are due to be connected to the grid this year.
"In partnership with PPC Renewables we are accelerating the energy transition in Greece. Construction work on our first eight solar farms is well underway. With our latest investment decision, we have prepared the ground for an additional 450-megawatt photovoltaic plant – RWE’s largest solar project under construction to date," said Katja Wünschel, CEO RWE Renewables Europe & Australia, welcoming the latest project.
Source: IWR Online, 12 Feb 2024
