Macquarie plans to invest 12 to 15 billion euros in Greece

Macquarie’s intention to invest 12 to 15 billion euros in the Greek economy is expressed by executives of companies belonging to the Australian fund.

Cero Generation, a renewable energy project development company and a subsidiary of the Green Investment Group belonging to the Macquarie group, officially announced yesterday the construction of the first 100 Megawatt photovoltaic park in Greece, called Project Delfini, which is being implemented in Prosotsani, Drama, and will be ready in a year.

The PPAs

This photovoltaic, according to Marta Martinez Queimadelos, also opens a new market in our country, that of PPAs (Private Power Agreements). This is the first ten-year private PPA in the Greek energy market and Cero’s counterparty is the large Swiss energy company Axpo. With PPAs, power produced by RES achieve low electricity prices, for a long period of time.

Cero has plans to develop 3 GW projects, while in Europe it has a portfolio of 8.9 GW. The information says that the Macquarie subsidiary already has 1 GW of PV plants ready for construction from 2023, which will be put into operation towards the end of 2024 and the beginning of 2025. According to available information, the Cero PV plants have already secured PPAs, both with Greek and foreign companies.

Areas of interest

On the sidelines of yesterday’s event attended by the Ministers of Environment and Energy, Development and Investments and the Deputy Minister of Environment, the fund’s executives underlined that its plans include investments of 12 to 15 billion euros in Greece. These are sectors such as telecommunications, infrastructure and energy. The same executives confirmed their interest in TERNA ENERGY, clarifying however that usually in such investments the procedures for making the decision require six to eight months.

It is noted that Macquarie already owns 49% of Hellenic Electricity Distribution Network Operator-HEDNO and is staking claims for Attiki Odos and Athens International Airport.

During yesterday’s event, both the CEO of Cero and the CEO of Axpo Domenico De Luca praised Greece’s policies for the green transition and the binding targets it has undertaken for the penetration of RES.