CPC clears deal for Bulgaria's second largest wind farm

The Commission for Protection of Competition (CPC) has allowed Renalfa to buy Bulgaria's second largest wind farm from Swiss energy giant Alpiq. The Austrian-based Bulgarian group's intention to acquire Vetrocom was notified in March and the deal is expected to be completed by the end of this year.

Renalfa's group companies will also acquire operations and maintenance company Alpiq Wind Services and electricity trader Alpiq Energia Bulgaria. The value of the transaction was not disclosed.

Vetrocom's core business is the generation of electricity from renewable energy sources (RES), in particular wind power. The company owns two wind farms with a total installed capacity of 72.5 MW, located near the village of Enina in the municipality of Kazanlak. They were built and commissioned in two separate stages — in 2010 a total of 20 wind turbines with a total capacity of 50 MWh were built and commissioned ("Vetrokom Wind Park"), and in 2012 another 9 wind turbines with an installed capacity of 22.5 MWh were built and commissioned ("Contact Consult Wind Park").

The company holds electricity generation licences issued by the Energy and Water Regulatory Commission (EWRC).

According to the CPC, the transaction will not have a significant impact on the electricity market in Bulgaria. The regulator estimates that the individual market shares of the two parties in the freely negotiated electricity trading market are below 0-5%, even taking into account the individual segments of the Bulgarian Independent Energy Exchange (IBEX).

The proposed transaction will lead to a marginal increase (below 0-5 %) in the market share of the Renalfa group, as the combined market share of the parties after the merger will not exceed [0-5] % either on the overall IBEX market or on the individual segments of the electricity exchange.

As a result of the transaction, the market position of the acquiring group is not expected to change significantly and will remain within the non-competitive range thus established," the decision added.

Renalfa IPP GmbH is a company incorporated and existing under Austrian law with its registered office in Vienna. Its principal activities are the development, construction and operation of renewable energy projects in Central and Eastern Europe. The shareholder of the company is the media publisher Ivo Prokopiev.