German renewables developer wpd has announced a 345MW solar development pipeline to tap into the growing Greek renewables market.
wpd Solar Hellas and wpd Hellas Onshore, both subsidiaries of the German company, have been created to develop “an independent” solar project portfolio in the country. The former is currently in partnership with local renewables group Zephiros EPE, developing three solar PV projects with a total capacity of 345MW. The parent company currently has an operational portfolio of wind power with 5,150MW capacity, but is also planning to develop 1,650MWp of solar energy over the coming years.
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wpd said in a statement that the company also plans to participate in the country’s renewables tenders this year, developing and operating its own power systems. In addition, it hopes to capitalise on its experience in offshore and onshore wind to “expand its portfolio” in the country.
Constantinos Faitatzoglou, head of project development at wpd Solar Hellas, said the company is “open to cooperations and opportunities in the Greek market.”
It is not the only German-headquartered solar company tapping into the emerging Greek solar sector. Blue Elephant Energy acquired two solar parks, a 7MWp plant in Kossos and a 38MWp plant in the Trikala regional unit, in February to gain a foothold on what it called a “promising” European market.
The Greek government has made several attempts to accelerate solar deployment, having set a target to phase out coal-fired power generation by 2028. Lawmakers approved four investments into new renewable energy projects totalling 2.8GW capacity at the end of last year as part of the country’s economic recovery from COVID-19. More than €2 billion is expected to be spent on four projects, the majority of which will be reserved for solar PV developments. Its environment and energy ministry has also attempted to shorten lengthy licensing processes for renewable energy projects, in a bid to free gigawatts’ worth of installations facing eight-year waits.