DEPA Commercial aims at 1 GW in RES through new acquisitions

The Public Natural Gas Company-DEPA Commercial is is going into overdrive to enter the RES electricity generation sector.

Thus, according to information, it acquired 100% of New Spes Concept, a company that has licenses for photovoltaics with a capacity of 232 MW. More details about the acquisition have not been made public except that a related decision was made by the company’s board of directors last Spring.

With this move, the company is making a dynamic penetration into RES, since in 2021 it acquired 49% of North Solar with 500 MW producing photovoltaics in Western Macedonia. The specific parks in the third quarter of the year are expected to receive a definitive connection offer so that their development can then begin. DEPA Commercial has an option to acquire the majority stake of 51% of North Solar, and according to sources it is expected to proceed with the acquisition of the share. The same circles set the company’s latest move for September.

Offering competitive prices

Through these two acquisitions, DEPA Commercial is building a “green” portfolio with a total capacity of 732 MW.

Its goal is to reach a total of 1 GW. Sources of the company comment that electricity generation from RES is necessary, especially in the current business environment the energy crisis has shaped. In this way, DEPA Commercial is forming an energy basket through which its subsidiary in the retail energy market “Natural Gas of Greece” will be able to provide competitive prices to its customers.

The group

The penetration of DEPA Commercial in the RES sector also allows management to achieve the goal of the verticalization of its activity. That is, going beyond trading and supply of natural gas and electricity.

For this purpose, it has already developed initiatives in hydrogen as well as in biomethane.

The DEPA Commercial group is expanding and now the group’s subsidiaries include, in addition to Natural Gas Hellas, New Spes Concept and its holdings in North Solar as well as Gastrade, which is developing the Alexandroupolis FSRU project. In the latter, DEPA Commercial participates with 20%.

Given these specifics, and after the “freezing” of its sale procedures by the Hellenic Republic Asset Development Fund and Hellenic Petroleum, the group is under re-evaluation. Its shareholders have put on the table other scenarios for exploiting the asset, without even excluding that of pursuing a listing on the stock market.