ATHENS – China’s state-owned coal and power giant Shenhua Group has bought 75 percent of the shares of four wind parks developed by Greek investment firm Copelouzos Group that are in operation and under construction, the Greek company said.
Shenhua, which signed the agreement through its renewable-energy resources subsidiary Shenhua Renewable Co. Ltd., is the first Chinese company to invest in wind power in Greece said the Chinese business news media company Caixin.
The amount of the investment wasn’t disclosed. But the two sides said they would together on a number of investments in green energy and on upgrades to power plants, at a total estimated value of 3 billion euros ($3.5 billion).
Shenhua also plans to acquire some shares in solar firm PPC Solar Solutions, co-founded by Copelouzos and Greece’s Public Power Corporation, with the two companies stepping up their collaborations.
The Greek company owns the country’s third-largest wind-power firm, Elica Group.Since 2016, Chinese companies have made several acquisitions in Greece. China’s Cosco operates the port of Piraeus and State Grid Corp. of China acquired a 24% stake in Greece’s power-grid operator, ADMIE, for 330 million euros ($383.44 million) as Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras is trying to woo more foreign investors, particularly from China.