Filling the Gaps in Project Execution Needs

Q: Why should renewable energy project developers rely on METKA EGN’s EPC services?

A: METKA EGN has 12 years of experience in the renewable energy sector, with a highly-international profile. Headquartered in the UK and of Greek origin, our company has several subsidiaries in Europe and initiated its Latin America expansion in 2016, so far we have built over 800MW of renewable PV energy installed capacity. Our primary offering is our capacity to develop and/or construct projects across markets with very different idiosyncrasies and our ability to work with different IPPs and large-scale developers. For instance, we developed and constructed a 50MW solar PV plant in Kazakhstan, even though the country lacks the sturdy industrial tissue to simplify this process.
Q: How has METKA Group’s merger with Egnatia Group affected the development of METKA EGN’s renewables footprint?

A: Egnatia Group was founded as a metallurgy company. Across its 30-year history it diversified to other business niches, such as telecommunications and solar PV parks. It was a beneficial arrangement for both parties. In terms of the benefits for Egnatia Group, it got access to Mytilineos Holding’s US$1.5 billion of yearly invoicing, boosting its financing capacity to transition from midsize to largescale solar PV generation projects.
Traditionally, METKA was focused on other powergeneration technologies, such as cogeneration, combined-cycle and thermal plants. Four months after the merger was finalized, METKA EGN was awarded a 57MW solar PV project in Puerto Rico, making the benefits of this merger almost immediate.
Q: What power generation technologies is METKA EGN looking to focus on in Mexico?
A: Our Latin American footprint is focused on solar PV projects, ranging from 15-300MW. Our holding grants us the capacity to develop other clean generation technologies but the ongoing strategy remains focused on solar PV projects. We did not establish a critical MW limit per se as our financial health enables us to tackle utility-scale projects, including cogeneration plants that can go up to 900MW in installed capacity.
Q: Is Mexico ready to deploy energy storage systems nationwide?

A: We believe so. Mexico’s energy policy aims to scale this kind of solution up to a point where it becomes standard in the country’s renewable energy project development. METKA EGN follows up the meetings organized by ASOLMEX that cover energy market trends, and energy storage is a big part of these discussions. Energy storage is a mature, proven and reliable technology in other markets, and METKA EGN can provide its wide experience in storage systems from other markets such as Puerto Rico, where it installed a 24MW storage system and the UK, where it has 100MW storage systems.
Q: How is METKA EGN adapting to the downward trend of the long-term electricity auction package prices?

A: METKA EGN is flexible enough to adapt to this trend. EPC companies are obligated to respond swiftly and effectively to market conditions to thrive in the industry. Solar PV EPC companies competing against those developing other power generation technologies share a particular trait. We can work as a coordinated unit to adapt to price variations to maintain our market foothold.
Solar PV is a rather simple technology to develop and manufacturing processes have been significantly optimized in recent years, together with the efficiency of solar panels and the decreasing cost of the components required for installation. This optimization can be seen throughout the value chain and reflects positively on EPC companies in cost-effective pricing. That does not include the synergies that can be obtained from economies of scale as a greater amount of solar MW is installed.