With 8.6 MW of installed capacity, Italy is one of the most important locations in the PV-Invest portfolio. Already in 2009, the first Italian PV-Invest power plant “Lequile II” was acquired. Good solar irradiation values in combination with high feed-in tariffs form the basis for the attractiveness of Italy as a photovoltaic location. 20-year state feed-in tariffs guarantee the lasting success of these investments. Italy already covers 9% of its electricity needs from photovoltaic electricity.

Given the rapid development of PV capacities within a short space of time, Italy opted to stop the feed-in tariff subsidies for new plants a few years ago. This led to an increase in the value of existing PV power plants in Italy.

Slovenia with its location on the southern end of the Alps has excellent conditions for photovoltaic power plants. The southern part of the country in particular enjoys good levels of sunshine. Feed-in tariffs were agreed for 15 years. New feed-in tariffs will no longer be granted, which is why PV-Invest acquires existing photovoltaic power plants with still applicable tariffs. PV-Invest operates PV power plants in Slovenia as community investment projects under the Moja elektrarna brand (www.mojaelektrarna.si).

Austria as a home market represents an essential stability factor in the group’s portfolio. The Austrian power plants are looked after by the sister company Unser Kraftwerk. Primarily PV power plants are operated in this market. At the foot of the Grossglockner also one small hydro power plant is part of the portfolio.

In Bulgaria, PV-Invest operates two photovoltaic power plants with an output of 5.5 MW. Bulgaria had a narrow time frame for attractive investments in PV power plants, an opportunity PV-Invest took advantage of in building and operating these two facilities.

During 2018, PV-Invest has completed 3 Mwp PV-installations in Hungary. The total envisaged PV-capacity in this country is targeted with 6-7 MWp to be completed by the end of 2019, bringing PV-Invest into a serious market position in this relatively new PV-market.

In 2015, PV-Invest in Oberempfenbach, Bavaria, built its first German photovoltaic power plant with a capacity of 3.6 MW. Despite no longer being the global market leader, Germany is still by far the largest PV market in Europe. Even if the sunshine levels are not comparable with Italy’s, Germany still provides the required stability in the country portfolio. Subsidised feed-in tariffs for 20 years enable the corporate strategy to be given direction in the long term.

Greece is far away from energy independency and fossil fuels are still the primary source of energy. The high solar potential and recent political decisions to decarbonize the energy sector by 2030 make it an interesting growth market.

As part of the strategic portfolio diversification, the market entry was made by the end of 2016 with the purchase of an existing 1 MW PV power plant. The company’s activities in Macedonia include photovoltaic and small hydropower plants.

In Bosnia-Herzegovina, the focus of PV-Invest is primarily on small hydropower. The country’s electricity production is still largely based on coal, which is why the use of renewable energies leads to significant CO2 savings.

Although France is not one of the core countries of PV-Invest, two smaller PV power plants have already been built. These two power plants were expanded by another 200 kWp in 2017. As the electricity feed-in tariffs in France are guaranteed by the state for 20 years, further projects will follow in this lucrative market.