Masdar and Taaleri Energia, a company that invests in utility-scale wind and solar assets, jointly agreed to collaborate on a 65-megawatt (MW) solar photovoltaic (PV) venture in Greece. The venture will be handled by Masdar-Taaleri Generation, a joint project between the two firms (MTG).

The collaboration was revealed during a virtual signing ceremony participated by Dionyssios Zois, Hellenic Republic Ambassador to the UAE, and Sulaiman Hamed Salem AlMazroui, UAE Ambassador to the Hellenic Republic.

As per Masdar, the project will be built by MTG in collaboration with local investors, the Constantakopoulos family, and Autohellas S.A., and would be the first venture in the Greek industry.

“We are incredibly pleased for today's virtual signing of the contract between two influential Greek business companies, the Constantakopoulos family and Autohellas SA, and the strategic alliance between Masdar, the UAE's green energy pioneer, and Finland's Taaleri Energia, a powerful foreign player in renewable energy,” Zois said.

“We congratulated all the business units participating, especially Masdar, upon their first investment within the Greek renewable energy market, and we expect that somehow this agreement will open the path for future Emirati investments in Greece, whether from Masdar or other UAE corporations,” he continued.

In turn, Al Mazroui said, "Today's agreement is a pivotal event that will strengthen Greece and the UAE's long-standing partnership." We are happy to support the country's efforts to combat climate change and commit to their target of generating 35% of their energy mix through renewables by 2030. We are hoping to further enhance our relationship by extending our bilateral partnership in the upcoming future.”

The initiative is in the advanced development stage and will be finished in 2023. It is situated in the Viotia district, approximately 65 kilometers north of the Greek capital, Athens. The proposal is scheduled to take part in Greece's feed-in-tariff premium auction system in late 2021.

“As we commemorate our fifteenth anniversary in the clean energy market, Masdar is pleased to announce its first investment in Greece. “We are looking ahead to collaborating with our partners and using our foreign experience in renewable energy initiatives to promote the diversification of the country's energy mix, while also promoting our shared climate change reduction objectives,” said Mohamed Jameel Al Ramahi, CEO of Masdar.

“This is a high-quality solar PV growth venture in one of the Taaleri SolarWind II fund's core solar investment markets, and it shows the importance of our joint project and partnership with Masdar,” said Kai Rintala, Managing Director of Taaleri Energia.

Once finished, the solar PV plant will generate more than 100 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of electricity each year.

“We are honored to be a participant of this multi-stakeholder initiative to build a significant photovoltaic project in our region and to enter prestigious organizations that are pioneers in their particular fields. Together, we will help Greece and our groups meet their environmental goals by optimizing the use of green energy,” said Achilles V. Constantakopoulos.

Greece's National Energy and Climate Plan (NECP) calls for the country to derive 35% of its energy from renewable sources by 2030. The program also aims to produce more than 60% of the country's energy demand by renewables by the same year, more than twice its current commitment.

“Autohellas is proud to be bringing its first investment in the clean energy sector along with established, foreign, and local collaborators with substantial experience in designing solar photovoltaic projects,” said Eftichios Vassilakis, CEO of Autohellas S.A.

MTG, a joint venture between Masdar and Taaleri, was unveiled at Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week 2019 as a growth platform for clean energy ventures in Central and South-Eastern Europe.

Masdar and Taaleri Energia funds are co-investment collaborators in Serbia's 158 MW? ibuk 1 wind farm, and Masdar recently gained an equal stake in two almost-ready wind farms in Poland, the 37.4 MW Mlawa Wind Farm and the 14 MW Grajewo Wind Farm.

In the Middle East, the two firms have collaborated on the creation and installation of the Baynouna Solar Energy Project, a 200 MW solar PV plant in Jordan that is the country's biggest single-site solar PV project.

Masdar announced recently the signing of contracts totaling $200 million to build a utility-scale solar photovoltaic (PV) plant in the Republic of Azerbaijan. The 230-megawatt (MWac) venture is the country's first autonomous solar project concentrated on international funding that is organized as public & private collaboration