Simtel Team acquires land of over 80 hectares in Giurgiu to develop a large photovoltaic park

Simtel Team (SMTL), a Romanian engineering and technology company listed on the AeRO market of the Bucharest Stock Exchange, announces the acquisition of an industrial land of 837,866 sqm in Giurgiu. The company plans to develop a sizeable photovoltaic park with a total installed capacity between 40 and 60 MWp – MW and aims to enter the market for renewable energy production. Once the construction is completed, it will be among the most prominent photovoltaic parks in Romania.

“When we decided to become a public company, one of the developments plans we considered was related to entering the market for electricity production from renewable sources. We are happy that we managed to identify suitable land for developing a photovoltaic project in a reasonable time and that we have already gone through the necessary steps to purchase it. We have all the resources to carry out such a project due to the experience gained from the turnkey construction of over 150 photovoltaic projects for clients, ensuring total maintenance in photovoltaic parks, which have an installed capacity of over 125 MWp and maintenance only for inverters for over 70 photovoltaic power plants – CEF, approximately 300MWp. Capital market financing mechanisms offer us many excellent development opportunities in our field of activity, and we thank investors once again for their trust. At the same time, we are glad that we are adding value to a land that has not been used for years through this acquisition. Green energy will continue to be a pillar of growth in the coming years based on the ambitious plans of the European Union set out in the Green Deal. Romania has set the goal that by 2030, the country will obtain 30.7% of the country’s energy consumption from renewable sources. At the same time, the official projections at the national level for the year 2030 foresee an increase of the photovoltaic capacities of up to approximately 5,100MW. This context motivates us, and we are optimistic that through our projects, we will contribute to achieving these national goals,” stated Iulian Nedea, co-founder and CEO of Simtel Team.

The land for which the company has concluded an acquisition contract belongs to Uzina Termoelectrica Giurgiu SA, which is insolvent and includes a lake covering approximately 160,000 sqm of its total area. The transaction, which amounts to about 0.8 million euros, will be submitted for approval at the Extraordinary General Meeting of Shareholders, which Simtel will convene in the next period. The land acquisition was done using part of the capital raised from investors during the private placement in May 2021.

In addition to the investment related to the acquisition of the land, the development of the project by Simtel involves costs of approximately 0.5 million euros, an amount that includes aspects such as design, obtaining all building permits, and the connection contract. Considering the price at which a fully authorized MWp is sold today, the value of such a project will be about 3 million euros. A fully certified MWp, ready to build, has a market value of approximately 60,000 euros.

After obtaining all the necessary permits, estimated for the second half of 2022, Simtel will have three options: sale of the ready-to-build project, construction of the photovoltaic park and its operation, or building of the project and selling it to an investor, based on a pre-contract signed with a buyer. Such a decision will be made at the respective time depending on the plans and projects in which the company is involved. The turnkey construction of the photovoltaic project in Giurgiu is estimated at 40 million euros. The amortization of the investment will take place in five to seven years, depending on the price of energy set in the market. The photovoltaic park will produce approximately 52,000-78,000 MWh annually, which can supply energy to over 14,000 households each year. This means a reduction of more than 67,000 tons per year in carbon dioxide emissions.

Simtel Team is listed on the AeRO market of the Bucharest Stock Exchange since July 1, 2021, with the market capitalization of 40 million euros. Starting with October 11, 2021, SMTL shares are included in the BET-AeRO index developed by the Bucharest Stock Exchange for the AeRO market. BET-AeRO consists of 20 companies, selected based on quantitative criteria, such as liquidity and free-float capitalization.