Business Forum • 13 December, 2024 at 1:38 PM
NEPI Rockcastle, the largest owner of shopping centers in Romania, aims to cover its electricity consumption exclusively from renewable sources by the end of 2026.
The company purchased a 50MW photovoltaic park in Arad County at the end of this year, where construction will begin next year. Meanwhile, the group is negotiating new acquisitions and aims to reach a capacity of 159MW in the next 2 years, with an investment budget of approximately €100 million.
"Commercial centers can be energy hubs," explained Andrei Horhoianu, Group Head of Energy at NEPI Rockcastle.
The company has already installed photovoltaic panels on the roofs of its 27 projects in Romania, reaching an installed capacity of 38MW. According to NEPI Rockcastle reports, this investment generated revenues of €7.3 million in the first nine months of the year.
Horhoianu added that NEPI Rockcastle pays around €30 million each month for electricity costs in its Romanian projects. Approximately 21% of the local portfolio's energy consumption was covered by its own production systems in H1 2024.
At the group level, the company has a budget of €788 million for developing new projects in CEE.
In Romania, the company is currently working on the expansion of Promenada Bucharest, where it will add new retail and office spaces along with a hotel, on a total leasable area of 55,400 sqm. The developer aims to obtain BREEAM Excellent certification for this project. Additionally, the company will start two new residential developments next year in Brașov and Craiova, where it will invest approximately €47 million.
NEPI Rockcastle also has another mixed-use project in the authorization phase in Galați, but no start date has been advanced for its development.
Another major commercial project will be launched in Bulgaria. The new Promenada Plovdiv development, with a leasable area of 60,500 sqm, is expected to be completed in Q4 2026.
The group's portfolio, valued at €7.8 billion, is located in eight CEE countries and includes 57 properties.