DEPA Commercial Investing In 800 MW Solar PV Capacity In Greece

Greek natural gas supplier DEPA Commercial has secured financial backing from the European Investment Bank (EIB) to fund its plans to develop 800 MW of solar PV capacity in the country.   

The bank has agreed to cover 75% of the total cost of the new PV sites with a total of €390 million. DEPA estimates the total cost to reach up to €521 million to build and operate these projects.  

Under DEPA’s plans, the solar PV sites will be located in Western Macedonia, Thessaly, and Central Greece. Once operational, this 800 MW capacity will generate enough clean energy to power an equivalent of 278,000 households/year.  

It plans to generate revenues from commercial power purchase agreements (PPA), and by selling power generated in the wholesale market.  

“The benefits of such investments, which contribute to the further penetration of renewable energy sources into Greece's energy mix, are manifold. These include the reduction of electricity costs for consumers and, of course, the enhancement of energy security and, consequently, the strengthening of our country's energy independence," stated the Greek Minister of Environment and Energy, Theodoros Skylakakis at the loan agreement signing.  

Structured as a framework loan, the EIB said its commitment to DEPA aims to increase renewable energy generation capacity to contribute to the European Union (EU) renewables targets, including the Renewable Energy Directive (RED II), and REPowerEU.  

It is part of the bank’s strategy to support new investments in the cohesion regions where per-capita  income is lower than the EU average, it explained.   

Greece targets to expand the share of renewable energy in its total energy mix to 14.1 GW by 2030, further expanding it to 34.5 GW by 2050. According to the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), at the end of 2023, the country had installed 7.03 GW of solar PV.