Switzerland-based MET Group is entering into the Romanian renewables market, with the acquisition of a 100% stake in a 52MW solar project at a late planning stage.
The project is expected to reach ready-to-build status by the first quarter of 2023.
MET has signed a share purchase agreement to acquire an SPV holding all the rights of the 52MW photovoltaic project, located in southern Romania, near Bucharest.
It is expected to enter into operation in 2024.
Romania represents the fourth additional country this year in which MET Group has acquired renewable energy projects after Italy, Spain, and Poland.
MET has announced the acquisition of a 213MW solar PV project pipeline in Italy, a 50MW ready-to-build PV project in Spain, and a 60MW PV project in Poland.
The Italian projects are part of Keppel MET Renewables, a new joint venture with MET’s strategic partner Keppel Infrastructure, pursuing renewable energy opportunities in Western Europe.
The Romanian PV project fits well into MET Group’s strategic vision to grow its renewables portfolio in Europe and will help it to reach a 2GW installed capacity portfolio by 2026.
Christian Hürlimann, Renewables CEO of MET Group said: “We already have solar and wind farm projects in Hungary, Bulgaria, Poland, Italy and Spain.
“And now, we onboard our first PV project in Romania which is a nice fit to our growing renewables generation portfolio.
“As we aim to build a geographically diversified renewables portfolio in Europe, MET also targets renewable energy investments in Germany and other Western European countries.
“Our expansion strategy focuses particularly on European markets where we already have a local presence, building on our existing operations across MET Group and providing renewable energy to our local customers.”