The energy ministry plans to focus on an environmental upgrade plan of the main power utility PPC’s Amynteo lignite-fired power station in the country’s north, intended to keep the facility running until all lignite deposits in the region have been depleted and, at the same time, sideline the development prospects of Meliti II – also in the north, in the Florina area – as a lower-priority project, as part of a wider effort to ensure CAT remuneration for existing lignite units.

The main power utility PPC, facing a bailout-required disinvestment, is currently selling lignite units and mines representing 40 percent of its overall lignite capacity.

A study conducted by PPC, as part of partnership talks with Chinese investors, has shown that Meliti II can only be a viable project with CAT remuneration support.

Under the EU’s current decarbonization regulations, an addition of Meliti II to the national grid will only be possible if the country’s other lignite-fired units are environmentally upgraded to an extent that would enable a Meliti II entry without any negative impact on the country’s greenhouse gas emission reduction targets.

Any new owner of Meliti II will need to factor in the investment cost of these strict decarbonization regulations.