Israeli renewable energy companies are stepping up their push into Europe. In less than two weeks, Econergy, Prime Energy and Sunflower signed three deals to buy European projects with a combined capacity of about 1.4 gigawatts, in transactions that could total roughly €575 million. The wave reflects a broader trend in which Israeli developers seek growth beyond Israel’s small market, limited land and grid constraints, while Europe offers demand growth and supportive policy.
Econergy, controlled by CEO Eyal Podhorzer and deputy CEO Yoav Shapira, signed a memorandum of understanding to buy all shares of a French wind company for €135 million, about NIS 450 million. The target has 134 megawatts operating, 34 megawatts under construction and 147 megawatts in advanced development, with a broader pipeline of about 800 megawatts. Econergy expects the assets coming online soon to generate €26 million to €29 million in revenue and €20 million to €22 million in EBITDA in 2027, rising to €61 million to €67 million in annual revenue and €49 million to €55 million in EBITDA once the full pipeline is built.
Prime Energy, now jointly controlled by Lehav and Yaron Kikoz after last year’s merger with Lehav’s renewable arm, signed a nonbinding agreement to buy a 62.5% controlling stake in a Spanish renewable company active in Spain, Italy and Germany. The first stage calls for an investment of €5 million to €10 million, with potential total investment of up to €150 million and, if an option is exercised, €350 million for 79% ownership. The Spanish company has one grid-connected 82-megawatt plant, 13 more projects totaling about 400 megawatts, and a storage pipeline of up to 29 gigawatt-hours.
Sunflower, controlled by Keystone and run by Shahar Ben Moyal, signed an agreement last week to buy a Spanish solar portfolio of about 137 megawatts for €90 million. About 85 megawatts are already connected to the grid, and the rest should connect in the coming weeks. The company also sees potential to develop roughly 500 megawatts of storage, and says the deal, plus another 48-megawatt acquisition under negotiation and 16 megawatts of Israeli projects, could lift its installed capacity from about 94 megawatts to around 300 megawatts by year-end.
IBI energy analyst Roy Shavit said Europe remains attractive because of long-term power contracts, renewable targets and rising electricity demand from data centers, industry, transport electrification and heating. He added that since Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, renewables and storage have become part of Europe’s energy-security strategy, and higher interest rates have also pushed local developers to seek capital from Israeli buyers.
