Israel’s OPC to Invest $200 Million in U.S. Solar Projects

Israel’s OPC Energy Ltd. will invest nearly $200 million in the “rapid growth” of a renewable energy business in the U.S.

Israel’s OPC Energy Ltd. will invest nearly $200 million in the “rapid growth” of a recently-acquired renewable energy business in the U.S., according to its chief executive officer.

The firm expects half the solar projects developed by Competitive Power Ventures, which an OPC-led group agreed to buy for $630 million this week, to be operational within three years, Giora Almogy said in an interview Wednesday. It will take another two years before all the 2.2 gigawatts-worth of investments are ready, he said.

The Tel Aviv-based company expects to close the deal in about three months, and sees a $25 million boost to its earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization next year, Almogy said.

OPC is pushing into the U.S. market amid a boom in solar projects, spurred in part by favorable federal and state policies, according to a BloombergNEF report. Prices for installation have steadily dropped over the past decade, making photovoltaic schemes more competitive against traditional sources of electricity.

“We told the management of CPV to keep developing their projects; to run and not stop,” Almogy said.

OPC shares have risen 24% in Tel Aviv since it announced the CPV acquisition on Sept. 16, giving the company a market capitalization of 5.1 billion shekels ($1.5 billion).

©2020 Bloomberg L.P.

Get live Stock market updates, Business news, Today’s latest news, Trending stories, and Videos on NDTV Profit.
GET REGULAR UPDATES