BIG Energia Holdings, a Hungarian subsidiary of Israeli BIG Group, has agreed to acquire 100 % capital in two North Macedonian companies which hold ownership of a solar project in Probistip municipality, North Macedonia. The project is in advanced stage of development and it has already received network connection permit.
The project includes two solar power plants with combined installed capacity of 70 MW, that stretch over an area of 885 thousand square meters. Estimated annual electricity generation of the two plants is 114 GWh.
In addition, the company is conducting advanced negotiations to purchase an additional 394 thousand square meters of land adjacent to the project. This acquisition is anticipated to expand the projected capacity by an additional 35 MW, thus increasing the project`s capacity to 105 MW.
The purchase of the project company`s shares will be carried out in stages and is subject to the main goals` completion and several other conditions. BIG Energia Holdings will pay 12.6 million euros for the purchase of shares and the development of the project until the construction permits are received, for the land and the winnings in the project, which will be paid according to the progress of the project`s development until the construction permits are obtained. Therefore, the estimated cost of the project, incl. the proceeds, is around 53 million euros.
Based on the expected production capacity of the project, the company estimates the gross revenues from the sale of electricity as approximately 7.9 million euros for the first year of operation, after balancing payments to the electricity grid (based on a selling price of 70 euros/MWh), for the duration of the project, minimum 25 years. Therefore, the total EBITDA from the project is expected to be about 7.2 million euros per year.
Completion of the deal is subject to several conditions, including the North Macedonian Competition Authority`s approval, the receipt of a construction permit for 70 MW, and the assumption that there will be no significant adverse change in the performance of the project. Accordingly, the deadline for meeting the demands for obtaining a building permit is 16 months from the date of signing the agreement.
