AVAX

Volterra makes dynamic RES return through iXion subsidiary

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Energy company Volterra aims to make a dynamic return to renewable energy production through the establishment of iXion, a fully-owned subsidiary, after selling a section of its RES portfolio last June to PPC Renewables, which, as a result, acquired 112 MW in wind and solar energy projects.

Besides renewable energy production, Volterra’s iXion subsidiary also aspires to expand the company’s presence into new domains such as electromobility, energy-saving projects, as well as solar energy system installations at residential and business properties for net-metering purposes.

Volterra, one of the Greek energy market’s oldest independent players – 13 years old – and a member of the AVAX construction group, one of the country’s biggest, will now purely focus on electricity and gas trading and supply.

“Volterra has always operated on the basis of a robust business model, which provided the company with flexibility to face unprecedented market challenges and difficulties that emerged in early 2021,” Panos Nikou, CEO of Volterra and iXion Energy, told energypress. “The establishment of iXion, a wholly owned subsidiary of Volterra, is based on Volterra’s expertise and strength of the AVAX Group. iXion aims to leverage the vast experience of its executives and the accumulated expertise, virtues and skills of its staff in general,” he added.

iXion aims to start making serious impact in the domains it has chosen to enter in 2023 and 2024, the chief executive noted.

GEK-TERNA winning bidder for PPC 550-MW solar farm

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GEK-TERNA has emerged as the winning bidder in a tender staged by PPC Renewables for the development of a 550-MW solar farm, one of Europe’s biggest, and its interconnection projects in Ptolemaida, northern Greece, at a location where power utility PPC, PPC Renewables’ parent company, has operated a company-owned lignite mine, sources have informed.

GEK-TERNA outbid five participants, METKA, RES INVEST, CMEC, AVAX and AKTOR, for this solar farm contract, a pivotal project for the decarbonization effort in northern Greece’s west Macedonia region, as well as PPC’s dynamic turn towards renewable energy.

Procurement of the project’s panels and all other equipment will be handled by PPC Renewables.

The project’s completion will represent a milestone for PPC’s business plan, foreseeing a rapid increase in installed RES capacity over the next few years.

PPC Renewables, nowadays organizing tenders for such projects at an extremely fast pace, is aiming for an imminent start in the Ptolemaida solar park’s development, so that this investment, worth roughly 280 million euros, can be completed by 2024.

The Ptolemaida solar farm will rank as one of Europe’s biggest. At present, a 626-MW solar power project being developed in central Spain by Solaria Energia is Europe’s biggest.

The Ptolemaida solar farm will more-than-double the capacity of Greece’s biggest such unit at present, a 204-MW solar power plant developed by ELPE in Kozani, northern Greece.

 

PPC Renewables agrees to buy Volterra 112-MW RES projects

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PPC Renewables, a subsidiary of power utility PPC, appears to have finalized details for a partial acquisition of energy firm Volterra’s renewable energy portfolio, namely 112 MW in wind and solar energy projects, both already operating and under construction. An official announcement on the agreement is expected to be announced today.

The anticipated acquisition by PPC Renewables, which does not include any of Volterra’s retail electricity market interests, currently pressured, promises to bolster the market presence of the buyer.

PPC Renewables is pursuing a plan aiming for 7.2 GW in installed RES capacity by 2024 and 9.1 GW by 2026, an investment initiative worth 8.4 billion euros.

In addition to its agreement with Volterra, a member of the AVAX construction group, one of Greece’s largest, PPC is also examining other RES sector opportunities in Greece and other Balkans markets, the focus on Bulgaria and Romania.

Volterra, holding a retail electricity market share of nearly 2.1 percent, has faced relentless cash-flow pressure, a key factor behind the parent company’s decision for electricity market disinvestment.

IGB nearing completion, Bulgarian PM to visit Komotini

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The Greek-Bulgarian IGB gas pipeline, whose construction is expected to be completed by mid-April, promises to contribute to the EU’s effort for drastically reduced reliance on Russian gas.

The IGB gas pipeline, a 50-50 joint venture of the ICGB consortium, involving Greek-Italian company IGI Poseidon (DEPA and Edison) and Bulgaria’s BEH, will run from Komotini, northeastern Greece, to Stara Zagora in Bulgaria and be linked with the TAP pipeline that runs across northern Greece for supply of Azerbaijaini gas to the region.

The IGB pipeline will offer a second interconnection between Greece and Bulgaria, in addition to the nearby Sidirokastro link.

Last week, EU officials announced a new energy strategy, Repower EU, aiming to reduce Russian gas imports to the continent by two-thirds. The establishment of alternative energy supply routes into Europe is now a priority on the Brussels agenda.

Bulgarian prime minister Kiril Petkov is scheduled to visit the IGB project contactor AVAX’s construction site in Komotini this Friday. His Greek counterpart Kyriakos Mitsotakis has been forced to miss the occasion after being sidelined by the Covid-19 virus. Energy minister Kostas Skrekas will fill in.

Bids for Volterra in March, company continuing RES development

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Prospective bidders for the partial or full sale of energy company Volterra, a subsidiary of the AVAX construction group, have been informed to prepare for binding bids within March, according to an update delivered by a major consulting firm commissioned by AVAX for the sale procedure.

This information emerged during a series of meetings staged last week by energy minister Kostas Skrekas and RAE, the Regulatory Authority for Energy, with the country’s energy suppliers, behind in their relay of energy-bill surcharge amounts to market operators and municipalities.

In accordance with standard company policy, AVAX always considers every possible option, depending on market conditions and its broader strategy, in order to to best utilize its assets and stakes, the construction group has announced.

Besides its activity in the retail energy market, Volterra is also continuing to develop its investment plan in renewables, a sector in which the company holds a strong RES portfolio with a capacity of 285 MW, comprising ten projects at various stages of maturity.

IGB gas pipeline launch delayed by 8 months for late-June, 2022

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The commercial launch of the Greek-Bulgarian IGB gas pipeline has been deferred by 8 months, for June 30, 2022, as a result of pandemic-related obstacles faced during the project’s development.

The gas pipeline’s technical work is now expected to be completed by the end of this year, instead of April, 2021, as was originally scheduled.

Two months earlier, ICGB, the consortium developing the project, informed companies that have reserved pipeline capacities through a market test of the unavoidable delay in the commercial launch.

Contractor AVAX, the winning bidder for the project’s construction in an international tender staged by ICGB, began developing the pipeline in May, 2019, prior to the pandemic, whose emergence and impact forced the company to drastically reschedule the IGB project.

International quarantine rules have delayed the IGB project’s progress as many workers needing to regularly cross the Greek-Bulgarian border have been forced to quarantine, each time, for days.

The quarantining rules have also complicated the transfer of equipment needed from one country to the other.

The ICGB consortium is comprised of Bulgaria’s BEH, holding a 50 percent stake, and IGI Poseidon, a 50-50 partnership involving DEPA International Projects and Italy’s Edison.

The IGB gas pipeline, to cover a total length of 182 kilometers, will run from Komotini, northeastern Greece, to Stara Zagora in Bulgaria, offering a second interconnection between the two countries, in addition to the nearby Sidirokastro link.

The project is planned to begin operating at an annual capacity of 3 bcm, which could be boosted to 5 bcm at a latter date.

 

Storengy’s Kavala UGS tender exit prompts formation changes

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A decision by France’s Storengy (Engie) to not participate in a forthcoming tender offering an underground natural gas storage facility (UGS) license for the almost depleted South Kavala offshore natural gas field in the country’s north has prompted a domino effect of formation changes by groups of investors planning to bid.

GEK TERNA appears to have formed an association with gas grid operator DESFA for the tender after having previously agreed to join forces with Energean Oil & Gas and Storengy.

Energean Oil & Gas, holding a license for the virtually depleted South Kavala field, has not remained an onlooker. The company has also found a partner, believed to be domestic, from the construction sector, according to sources.

To date, Energean Oil & Gas has held talks with three major groups, Mytilineos, AVAX and Aktor, the same sources added.

A Chinese investor is also believed to be interested in the South Kavala UGS tender, staged by privatization fund TAIPED, but will not link up with any partners.

The tender is offering rights for the use, development and exploitation of the virtually depleted offshore natural gas field south of Kavala as a UGS facility for a period of up to 50 years.

Participants must submit first-round, non-binding offers by October 19 following three deadline extensions.

Solid bidder turnout for DEDA east Macedonia, Thrace gas network tenders

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Five construction companies and one consortium have taken part in the first two tenders staged by gas distributor DEDA for the development of gas distribution networks in Xanthi/Drama and Alexandroupoli/Komotini, respectively, in Greece’s north and northeast.

Key Greek construction firms such as Aktor, Avax and Intracom were among the bidders, sources informed. Newcomers and older companies also took part in the tenders, totaling 33.4 million euros, including Edil Hellas, Ergo ATE and Vermion ATEE-Sourla Bros ATEBE.

The level of participation on the two tenders was described as satisfactory by DEDA’s managing director Marios Tsakas and a vote of confidence for the gas company’s ambitious plans to broaden the coverage of networks in provincial Greece.

DEDA covers all parts of Greece not represented by fellow DEPA Infrastructure subsidiaries EDA Attiki, covering the wider Athens area, and EDA THES, covering Thessaloniki and Thessaly.

Project contracts with winning bidders could be signed by the end of the year so that construction work of the new networks can begin early in 2021 in all four provincial cities, sources said.

Avax, Aktor, Ergo ATE, Edil Hellas, Vermion ATEE-Sourla Bros ATEBE and Intracom took part in the DEDA tender for the development of gas networks in the Xanthi and Drama areas, budgeted at 17.1 million euros.

Avax, Aktor, Ergo ATE, Edil Hellas and Intracom also took part in the Alexandroupoli/Komotini tender, budgeted at 16.3 million euros.

The two regional projects are being funded by own funds, loans and business development funds for the east Macedonia and Thrace regions.

Gas distribution networks totaling at least 200 kilometers for 4,066 connections concerning all gas consumer categories by 2024 are planned for the Xanthi and Drama areas.

As for the Alexandroupoli and Komotini areas, the DEDA plan entails construction of gas distribution networks totaling 170 kilometers for at least 5,279 connections by 2024.

DEDA plans to launch new tenders next month for construction of gas networks in Orestiada and Kavala, northern Greece, sources said.

Overall, the new gas distribution networks planned by DEDA in the six provincial cities are budgeted at 56.6 million euros, plus 24% VAT, and will provide a total of 496,000 kilometers of mid and low-pressure gas supply lines for at least 15,000 consumer connections of all categories.

DEDA is also planning tenders next month for gas network projects in central Greece and the central Macedonia region.

PPC, IPTO see big potential in broadband development PPPs

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Power utility PPC and power grid operator IPTO, both seeing enormous potential in the further utilization of their thousands of kilometers of distribution and electricity transmission networks covering the entire country, have emerged as contestants in a tender for a broadband network expansion project, one of Greece’s biggest Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) to date.

PPC and IPTO know well their existing nationwide infrastructure is a treasure whose potential is far from fully realized. Fiber optics and a large range of telephone and internet services can be added to this infrastructure.

The PPP tender is offering contracts for the development of ultra-fast broadband networks in seven parts of Greece that have not been included in investment plans shaped by telephony providers. The project is budgeted at 870 million euros.

Besides PPC and IPTO, three telecom companies, OTE, Vodafone and Wind, four construction firms, Terna Energy, Mytilineos, Intrakat and AVAX, as well as the Sultanate of Oman’s Oman Fiber Optic SAOC have emerged as first-round contenders for the tender.

Partnerships could be established between some of these ten participants, or with other investors who may be emerge later on.

According to the tender’s initial terms, bidders or bidding teams are entitled to be awarded up to three regions.