EV Group

EV Group is the largest utility provider in Cattala, operating a state-owned monopoly of the electricity and gas market. The company owns most of Cattala's power stations, providing power to homes and business across the country.

It was established in 1988 as the sole distributor of electricity and gas market to households and businesses. In 2003, it acquired NEG's domestic production arm and was rebranded EV Group. It began international ventures in 2013.

EV Group is owned by the Ministry of Climate and Energy and any profits after reinvestment are returned to the Ministry each year. It is run and managed by an independent board of directors, who report to the Ministry, in a similar way to that of a board reporting to shareholders at AGMs.

History
The state-owned electricity and gas distribution company was founded after the demerger of the National Energy Company's Public and Business Services department in 1986. Known as the PBS, it operated for two years independently of the main NEC group following the 1986 Energy Act. It was merged by the government with the Gas and Electricity Supply department in 1988, and became known as Energie Verdi.

The company's name was decided by the board in 1988, as the company's ethos was developed, and announced that the new company would invest mainly in renewable energy and reduce expenditure on importing energy, including coal and oil.

In 2003, the National Energy Group sold a majority of its domestic gas and electricity arm to Energie Verdi. The government announced that the company would be rebranded as EV Group as a result of its expansion into the non-renewable market.

In December 2013, the Ministry of Climate and Energy announced that EV Group would begin international ventures for the first time, investing in hydroelectric power in New Duveland alongside NEG-Shemya.

Solar Energy
EV Group joined the solar energy market in 2006, following government approval for the energy producer to begin commercial solar production. Prior to this, the only solar energy produced in Cattala was from domestic solar panels, provided by private companies, and small scale solar co-operatives in rural areas. EV announced plans to invest several billion dollars in Concentrated Solar Power production, a method popular in Iberia. Seven CSP stations will be built by 2020, using the parabolic trough method.

The first solar power station to come online was the Seina Fieldways Solar Station, in Monte Calida. The 150MW power plant powers up to 300,000 homes during its peak production in summer months. The more ambitious Ionia Fieldways project was confirmed in December 2011 and funding secured in June 2012, when the AIN's Ministry for the Environment approved a $1500 million grant to the project, which will be completed by 2016. If it achieves its 250MW target, Ionia Fieldways will be the fifth largest solar power station in the world.

By 2020, EV aims to have constructed seven CSP stations of various sizes, the largest being the Ionia Fieldways project which will supply all of the Ionian main island and will also sell surplus electricity to Italy via a high voltage direct current connection.

Wind Energy
In 1997, Energie Verdi announced its first national renewable energy scheme, a plan to generate several gigawatts of electricity from a network of offshore and onshore wind farms. Planning continued until 2005, when EV Group applied to the Crown for permission to build five separate wind farms stretching from Hellas province, Lessito province, Roumeli province and Jennai province along Cattala's east coast.

In 2007, construction on the first $700 million stage of the project began, with a 200MW offshore wind farm off the coast of Lessito province. That summer, the blueprint for the 3.6GW project was unveiled. By 2018, a four-stage development of onshore and offshore wind farms will produce 34% of Cattala's energy needs at peak production. The ambitious proposal included a 600MW network of three farms off the north east coast of Hellas Province, 1GW of onshore wind power spread across Lessito and Roumeli provinces, 500MW off the coast of Roumeli and Lessito and a major 800MW offshore wind farm south of Jennai province which will alone cost $3.4 billion.

In 2010, the first and second stages of the development were completed, with the two offshore wind farms in Hellas and Lessito producing a combined 800MW of electricity. The third stage of onshore wind farms is due to be turned on in several stages between 2012 and 2014.

Nuclear Power
Energie Verdi took over management of the Celeste Nuclear Station in 2003 from NEG. The station was built in the 1960s and was in need of several million lira of investment to maintain its production capacity. In 2010, the nuclear station was decommissioned by EV Group. The company maintained its commitment to build a new nuclear power station in Cattala, despite the nuclear disaster in Japan in 2011 and the high costs of nuclear energy.

In 2011, it was announced by EV that it would be constructing two new nuclear power stations alongside a specialist team from the Atlantic Federation, who had a 50% stake in the new power stations. EV Group expects them to be built by 2028, and is currently looking for suitable land in the south and east of Cattala to locate the stations, to generate enough safe electricity to power Celeste, Calora and Jennai for the decades ahead.