Israeli renewable energy firm Ashtrom Renewable Energy has signed agreements with a local company in Greece to develop a 476MW solar project pipeline.

The agreement marks Ashtrom Renewable Energy ’s first foray into Greece’s renewable energy market.

The company initially plans to develop five solar projects, which could require an investment of between €335m ($325m) and €380m ($368m).

The agreement also includes a mechanism giving the development partner most of the consideration depending on the development progress.

This would be paid at advanced development stages once the partners have received approval to link the projects to the grid.

Ashtrom Renewable Energy CEO Yitsik Marmelshtein said: “Ashtrom’s entry to the energy market in Greece corresponds with its strategy for expanding its renewable energy operations to additional countries, following our entry to the US and Poland.

“We estimate that the Greek market – characterised by accelerated growth, high electricity prices and good solar radiation conditions compared to other European countries – can serve as a significant growth opportunity for Ashtrom Renewable Energy in the near future.

“We intend to take further measures and develop additional renewable energy projects, thus establishing our operations in the US, Israel, Poland and Greece, where we conduct substantial projects of 1.5GW total capacity.”

Market consultants said the installed solar capacity is expected to reach around 10GW by 2030, comprising a significant share of Greece’s energy generation mix.

The agreement also gives Ashtrom Renewable Energy the option to acquire other projects owned by its Greek partner, which are currently in advanced stages of development.

The Greek firm said these projects are expected to obtain construction permits within the upcoming year.

A subsidiary of Ashtrom Group , Ashtrom Renewable Energy operates in several major geographical markets, with a focus on the US and Europe.

The company has a total portfolio of 1.5GW of capacity in various stages of development.