PPC to invest EUR 24 billion with focus on Balkan expansion

Public Power Corp. (PPC Group) boosted its investment plan to EUR 24 billion by the end of the decade, with a focus on renewable energy, gas power plants and data centers.

The new investment plan revealed a EUR 14 billion rise from the previous plan. According to PPC Group (DEI in Greek), the renewables capacity would reach 10.7 GW, across all markets, versus the current 5 GW.

Stassis: Southeast Europe is an integrated region for PPC Group

The group views Southeast Europe as an integrated region, where synergies are to be found through different energy sources in each country and verticality, Chairman and CEO George Stassis asserted. For example, different wind and solar conditions in each market create opportunities for power imports and exports among them.

The core market, Greece, is seen for 52% of investments, while 21% would be directed to Romania. The rest are Italy, Bulgaria, Croatia, as well as Slovakia, Poland and Hungary where PPC will expand for the first time.

Talks for first data center to conclude soon

Out of the EUR 24 billion, 69% would be spent on the group’s core business of power production, 19% on power distribution and 5% on data centers. PPC is currently in talks with American hyperscalers for advancing its first 300 MW data center, in Kozani, in Western Macedonia. The region in the country’s north is a coal hub under economic transformation. Greece is planning to end the use of coal this year.

PPC Group’s management expects the conclusion of these talks later this year. At the same time, it is looking at building two more data centers in the wider Balkan region.

In Greece, PPC would bring online 5 GW of capacity: 0.7 GW in wind, 1.6 GW in solar, 0.5 GW in hydropower and pumped storage, 1.3 GW in gas-fired capacity and 0.8 GW in battery storage.

In Romania, installed capacity across all technologies is seen at 5.3 GW, compared to 1.6 GW today, with a focus on renewables and flexible gas-fired power plants. The local distribution network would benefit from EUR 1.2 billion in investment.

Italy, Bulgaria and Croatia would host 0.9 GW of natural gas units in total and 3.5 GW in renewables in 2030. For Hungary, Poland and Slovakia, the goal is 2.2 GW overall, of which 0.4 GW would be storage.

Share capital raise of EUR 4 billion in plan

To finance the new investment plan, PPC Group announced a share capital raise of EUR 4 billion, where the Greek state would retain its 33.4% stake and cover EUR 1.3 billion.

Private investment firm CVC Capital Partners,  a shareholder of 10.34%, said it would participate with EUR 1.2 billion, while another EUR 400 million would come from other institutional investors.