NextEnergy fund acquires 532 MW of solar and storage projects in Greece

NextPower III ESG, a private solar fund managed by London-based NextEnergy Capital, has forayed into the Greek market with the acquisition of 532 MW of solar and battery projects.

The deals include six utility-scale solar projects totalling 132 MWp and a majority interest in six standalone battery storage projects totalling 400 MW, the fund said today. It will aim to secure long-term power purchase agreements (PPAs) for the solar projects’ entire output, while the storage projects are expected to take part in the 2023 contract for difference (CfD) auction process.

The acquisition takes the vehicle’s portfolio to over 1.7 GW, spread across the US, Chile, Spain, Portugal, Poland, India and Greece.

NextPower III ESG was launched in 2018 and reached a final close of USD 896 million (EUR 838m) in January 2022. It is looking to deploy its total raised capital by the second half of 2023.

Aldo Beolchini, NextEnergy Group managing partner and chief investment officer, commented that “Greece is the second largest market in terms of total electricity demand in South-Eastern Europe and offers high levels of solar irradiation, ideal for utility-scale solar deployment.”

According to a recent report, the Greek government is expected to launch the country’s first tender for battery energy storage capacity at the end of this year’s third quarter.

In September 2022, the European Commission approved Greece’s plan to spend EUR 341 million on the construction and operation of up to 900 MW of grid-connected energy storage systems. It was then announced that developers would be awarded contracts by the end of 2023 and would be required to bring the proposed facilities online by end-2025.

(USD 1 = EUR 0.935)

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