alexandroupoli

GEK Terna, Copelouzos join forces for offshore wind farm studies

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GEK Terna and the Copelouzos group are joining forces for common survey work concerning two respective pilot-project offshore wind farms close to Alexandroupoli, in the country’s northeast, energypress sources have informed.

The two corporate groups have decided to merge their survey efforts for these projects as their respective production licenses concern the installation of offshore wind facilities in Alexandroupoli’s same wider offshore area, marked out by the government, following a recommendation by the relevant authority, EDEYEP, the the Hellenic Hydrocarbons and Energy Resources Management Company.

The pilot offshore wind farms to be installed off Alexandroupoli will offer a total capacity of 600 MW, slightly below the sum of two separate production licenses held by GEK Terna and the Copelouzos group, for 485 MW and 216 MW, respectively.

The synergy between the two groups concerns geophysical and geotechnical studies on the composition of the seabed, collection of wind data, as well as studies related to the logistics chain and an electrical interconnection that will be built in order to transfer energy produced to the land and the transmission grid.

The two groups expect their joint survey effort to be completed within 12 to 16 months from now. They aim to launch both offshore wind farms before the end of this decade.

The projects will be developed through an EU go-to-areas scheme designed to accelerate green-energy project development as a means of ending Europe’s reliance on natural gas as soon as possible.

Five areas selected for first stage of offshore wind farms

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Five areas marked out to host Greece’s first phase of offshore wind farms, planned to offer a total capacity of 2.1 GW, are located in the north and central Aegean, as well as off Crete.

The area in the north is situated off Alexandroupoli, three areas are close to mainland Greece and the wider Dodecanese area, while a fifth spot is off eastern Crete, at an area between Sitia and Xerokampos.

The area off Alexandroupoli is planned to host pilot projects offering a total capacity of 600 MW. The Copelouzos group secured a 216-MW production license for offshore parks in this area back in 2012. Contracts for their development will not undergo any competitive procedures as these projects have been classified as pilot projects.

The three areas chosen to host offshore wind farms in the central Aegean will each host wind farms with respective capacities of 300 MW for a total of 900 MW.  It has not yet been determined if these offshore wind farms will be located close to the mainland or in the wider Dodecanese area.

The wind farm off Crete, near the northeastern shoreline, is planned to offer a total capacity of 600 MW.

Environmental, spatial, social, economic and geopolitical criteria, along with wind intensity, a decisive factor determining the degree of return on investment, were taken into consideration when selecting the aforementioned areas.

Power grid operator IPTO has already delivered precise data on the grid absorption potential at each of these clusters. However, the plan still needs to be approved by the Hellenic National Defence General Staff.

Alexandroupoli offshore wind farms given RES priority status

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Offshore wind farms planned to be introduced in Greece as a pilot program off Alexandroupoli, in the country’s northeast, will be developed through an EU go-to-areas formula designed to accelerate green-energy project development as a means of ending Europe’s reliance on natural gas as soon as possible.

A local draft bill incorporating this European formula, which has been adopted in Greece for the first time for the Alexandroupoli offshore wind farms, was submitted to Greek Parliament yesterday as a “RES First Choice Areas” initiative.

As stipulated in the draft bill, RES priority areas must be located beyond areas offered environmental protection through the EU’s Natura 2000 network. In addition, these areas will be approved by Presidential Decree.

Go-to-area RES projects will be exempted from the environmental permitting process and a special ecological assessment procedure.

For the time being, Alexandroupoli is Greece’s only area to have been awarded RES priority status.

Copelouzos to begin development of Alexandroupoli power plant

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The Copelouzos group’s Damco Energy plans to soon start developing a combined cycle power station in northeastern Greece’s Alexandroupoli area with support from a major foreign energy company, not yet named, energypress sources have informed.

RAE, the Regulatory Authority for Energy, granted a license for the project just days ago. The Copelouzos group submitted its application in December.

The facility is planned to be linked to the prospective Alexandroupoli FSRU by a company-owned gas pipeline, meaning Damco Energy will avoid transmission costs as the gas grid operator DESFA’s network will not be needed. This should offer the power station a competitive advantage.

Though planned as separate projects, the Alexandroupoli FSRU, an LNG terminal, and the Damco Energy power plant promise to establish synergies as one unit will support the other.

The power plant’s operating costs and production capacity, planned to offer 662 MW over a 35-year period, promise to offer grid dispatch advantages, a related study conducted by the Copelouzos group has shown.

The project is seen contributing to Greece’s wider decarbonization effort and the intermediary role to be played by natural gas in electricity generation until renewable energy sources can fully take over.

The Copelouzos group plans to complete the combined cycle power station’s development in 27 months, while its commercial launch is expected early in the second quarter of 2022, following testing.

 

 

Energy authorities to gather at Alexandroupoli forum

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The American-Hellenic Chamber of Commerce, supported by the Hellenic Association for Energy Economics (HAEE), is holding its 1st Oil & Gas Forum on September 7 in Alexandroupoli, northeastern Greece, at the Ramada Plaza Thraki Hotel.

With rising global energy demand, the oil and gas industry in Greece has a wide range of challenges to face and opportunities to seize, the organizers noted, adding that the forum will bring together key policy makers, regulators, top market players, financiers, academics and experts to present and discuss unique insights in and observations on up-to-date topics in the dynamic energy field in Greece and the wider region.

Greek Minister of Environment & Energy Giorgos Stathakis as well as the US Ambassador to Greece Geoffrey R. Pyatt have already confirmed their participation at the event as keynote speakers.

Other confirmed appearances include Serbia’s mining and energy minister Aleksandar Antic and Bulgarian energy minister Temenuzhka Petkova, the organizers announced.

The conference will cover the following areas: global trends in the energy sector and geopolitics; understanding relationships between energy geopolitics and energy markets; the oil & gas potential of Greece, including challenges and perspectives; the role of pricing in the sector’s evolution; the future of oil and gas drillings in Greece; the role of Greece in the global gas and LNG market; new interconnections and terminals; gas pipelines and regional challenges in southeast Europe; energy project financing; and regional alliances and cooperations.

During the conference, diverse thoughts, ideas and best practices will be presented on how Greece could become a major energy hub for Europe and how it can best exploit its geographical advantage and energy resources for achieving this goal, the organizers noted.

For further information:

American-Hellenic Chamber of Commerce

Frosso Paneta  Tel.: 210 6993559 ext.27 Email: f.paneta@amcham.gr

Sophia Chaidogiannou  Tel.: 210 6993559 ext. 26 Email.: s.xaidogiannou@amcham.gr

Hellenic Association for Energy Economics (HAEE)

Constantina Zervou Tel.: 211 71 56 168, Email.: k.zervou@haee.gr