The board at RAE, the Regulatory Authority for Energy, needs to determine whether a proposal by gas grid operator DESFA for a floating storage and regasification unit at Atherinolakkos, Crete, is fit to be added to its national gas grid development plan for 2020 to 2029.
The investment plan, budgeted at 175 million euros, has been widely criticized by companies and market authorities through a public consultation procedure as DESFA wants national grid users to cover its cost. This demand has also troubled RAE, heading towards staging a tender.
According to sources, the authority will most likely ask DESFA to not include the FSRU project in its development plan this year and call for specific prerequisites that would give the investment social dimension.
RAE officials have reiterated the need for the development of the authority’s proposals to help cover Crete’s energy needs until a major interconnection project, to link the island with Athens, is completed. This intermediate period may exceed three years, it is believed. An FSRU will need to contribute to the overall effort.
RAE has asked the energy ministry to make legislative revisions needed ahead of tenders concerning the development of projects for energy sufficiency on Crete.
One of these entails a conversion of power utility PPC facilities totaling 100 MW from diesel-fueled to gas-fueled units. Another project concerns the construction of a new 100-MW gas-fueled power station, plus an FSRU. RAE also wants new wind and solar energy units installed for a total capacity of 100 to 150 MW, as well as energy storage batteries with a capacity of between 40 to 50 MW.
DESFA, responding to the criticism, explained that it does not intend to construct a gas-fueled power station, noting such a task is beyond its realm.
Also, its FSRU proposal for Crete purely represents a solution to secure energy sufficiency on the island, DESFA officials told energypress. The project already carries social dimension as it aims to supply gas to a non-interconnected area, they added.