Three Seas Initiative investment fund acquired a significant stake in Austrian renewable energy company Enery Development, which operates a 60 MW solar power plant in Bulgaria, said state-owned Bulgarian Development Bank (BDB).
The statement from the bank said that utility-scale solar generation has yet to be widely deployed in central and eastern Europe, despite the ideal conditions with high levels of irradiation and availability of suitable land. The increasingly pressing requirement to decarbonize the region is expected to present substantial opportunities for renewables investment in the near term.
Enery Development has a portfolio of 85 MW, of which 60 MW in Bulgaria. Last September, Enery Development has completed the acquisition of Bulgarian ACWA Power CF Karad PV Park, the owner of Karadzhalovo solar power plant, and the plant’s operator NOMAC Bulgaria from Saudi-based ACWA Power. Bulgarian Commission for the Protection of Competition (CPC) approved the transaction in March. Financial details of the transaction were not disclosed. This represents the largest brownfield investment in the Bulgarian solar sector to date. In early 2021, the company said that iz plans to build additional 200 MW in solar capacity in Bulgaria.
The Three Seas Initiative brings together EU member states located between the Baltic, Black, and Adriatic seas – Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Slovenia, Austria, Croatia, Romania and Bulgaria. The political project aims to promote cooperation for the development of infrastructure in the energy, transport, and digital sectors, whereas its investment fund is a dedicated commercial fund targeting critical infrastructure investment in the region.
