DEPA Commercial signed a loan agreement with the European Investment Bank (EIB) in Athens on Tuesday to build photovoltaic parks of 816 megawatt capacity in western Macedonia, Thessaly, and Central Greece.
EIB funding will reach 390 million euros maximum, while some of the new units will have batteries added as well.
The event was attended by Ministers of National Economy & Economics Kostis Hatzidakis and of Environment & Energy Thodoros Skylakakis.
Hatzidakis welcomed the investment, saying it will help DEPA Commercial in its new plan, while Skylakakis underlined the importance of vertical integration and the balanced development of technologies (photovoltaics, wind, and storage) in order to ensure the power system is effective and will not create problems.
DEPA CEO Konstantinos Xifaras noted that the first tenders for the photovoltaic parks will be announced in the next ten days, while the investmens in renewable energy sources (RES) combined with a share in the Alexandroupolis gas-powered electricity unit will lead the company to its vertical integration.
EIB Vice-President Yiannis Tsakiris underlined the bank’s consistent commitment to RES, adding that the bank has provided loans worth 4.3 billion euros in total in recent years for investments in the power grid connections between islands, RES, and energy efficiency.
DEPA Chairman of the Board Ioannis Papadopoulos said the step was a decisive one in transforming the company into a vertically integrated energy company.
