Masdar puts UAE’s EUR 15 bn Greece pledge into motion with a 550 MW solar buy and a Khazna data center tie-up

UAE’s pledge to invest EUR 15 bn in Greece is seeing its first actions through Masdar. The Abu Dhabi-owned renewables giant has agreed to buy and develop a 550+ MW solar project from Lightsource BP, which it describes as one of Greece’s largest. Masdar also signed on with Khazna Data Centers to explore supplying clean power to green data centers in the country, according to an Abu Dhabi Media Office statement. The value of the acquisition wasn’t disclosed.

IN CONTEXT- Masdar’s moves came a few days after Prince Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed’s visit to Greece, where the UAE announced plans to invest EUR 15 bn in the EU country, state news agency Wam reported. The visit also saw UAE and Greek companies sign 18 MoUs and commercial partnerships, covering digital infrastructure and AI, renewables and clean-energy infrastructure, logistics, transport and ports, industry, healthcare, life sciences, and food security.

REMEMBER- Masdar already has a major foothold in Greece: Masdar acquired a 70% stake in Greek renewables developer Terna Energy in November 2024, valuing the company at EUR 3.2 bn, before taking ownership in April 2025. The new solar project is its first strategic investment through Terna, which serves as its expansion platform across Southeastern and Central Europe.

The project is due online by the end of 2026 and will generate enough electricity to power more than 200k homes, according to the statement. Masdar plans to add battery storage to balance supply and demand. The acquisition also includes two substations that connect the project to Greece’s transmission grid. Closing is expected before year-end, pending regulatory approval.

The data center play is still at an early stage: Masdar and G42-owned Khazna will explore developing green data centers in Greece, supported by dedicated renewable power and battery storage, to serve rising electricity demand from AI and cloud computing. No investment value, capacity, or timeline was announced. Khazna is already working with Italy’s Eni on a planned 500 MW data center in Italy, alongside its expansion into Saudi Arabia.

MEANWHILE- Investors are lining up for Masdar: Masdar priced a USD 600 mn five-year blue bond last week at 115 bps over US Treasuries. That was tighter than initial guidance of c. 130 bps, after orders topped USD 1.4 bn, or more than twice the issue size, Zawya reports. The notes settle this Thursday, 29 October, mature in October 2031, and will list on the London Stock Exchange’s International Securities Market.