GREGY gaining momentum, investment decision early ’25

Elica, a subsidiary of Greece’s Copelouzos group established to promote the Greek-Egyptian GREGY Interconnector, is preparing to push ahead with studies that will determine the project’s cost and also establish sites and partners for the development of 9.5 GW in RES projects.

All these aspects are crucial factors ahead of a final investment decision, expected to take a year. GREGY Interconnector, initially budgeted at 4.2 billion euros, promises to facilitate renewable energy exports from Egypt to Europe via Greece.

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al Sisi in El Alamein focused on the GREGY Interconnector at a recent meeting that was also attended by Dimitris Copelouzos, chairman and managing director of the Copelouzos group, which has encouraged all parties involved to move faster.

At the meeting, the Egyptian President stressed that cooperation should be accelerated and procedures streamlined, while noting any obstacles that may arise must be cleared.

The Egyptian leader’s words essentially encourage closer ties between Egypt’s electricity and renewables ministry, the Egyptian power grid operator EETC, and the Copelouzos group for swift progress on the project’s studies, expected to be awarded in February and completed, barring unexpected developments, towards the end of the year.

A total of four studies – a technical study; environmental impact study; geophysical-geotechnical study; and seabed mapping, the most challenging of the four, to be conducted at a depth 954 km in the East Mediterranean – are needed. Their total cost is estimated at between 35 and 40 million euros. Investors will seek to cover half this cost through EU funding support.

The Copelouzos group should be ready to announce a final investment decision on the GREGY Interconnector in early 2025.

Italy has corresponding plans with the Italian-German Green Vein project for a line facilitating renewable energy transmission from Egypt to Italy.

This project’s planned capacity matches that of the GREGY Interconnector, at 3 GW, but Green Vein’s subsea cable would be three times longer than that of the GREGY Interconnector’s 954 km. This will definitely weigh heavy on the Green Vein’s cost, still not announced.

Plans for a detailed feasibility study concerning Green Vein were announced by UAE’s K&K Group, Italy’s CESI and the Prysmian group, and Germany’s Siemens Energy at the recent COP28 in Dubai.

 

EU support sought for half of Vertical Corridor’s €450m budgeted cost

The Vertical Corridor, a European gas-pipeline system now planned to involve TSOs of seven countries – Greece, Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary, Slovakia, Moldova and Ukraine – will require an estimated 450 million euros in investments, energypress sources have noted.

Greek gas grid operator DESFA’s share of this sum will be minimal as a compressor station at Komotini, northeastern Greece, is all it will need to contribute to the project. All other upgrades to Greece’s gas grid, which, once completed, would enable the country to serve as a Vertical Corridor entry point, are already under development.

Officials of the six other countries participating in the project through initiatives taken by local TSOs believe that 50 percent of the project’s budgeted cost would need to be covered by EU funds if Vertical Corridor is to be materialized.

Project participants will push for political commitment from the European Commission by March as the upcoming European elections and any leadership changes would result in delays.

This issue was raised during a two-day ministerial conference staged by the Central and South-Eastern European Gas Connectivity Group (CESEC) in Athens last week, a gathering attended by European Commissioner for Energy Kadri Simson, but no indications of Brussels’ stance were offered.

Vertical Corridor project members are now expected to intensify their call to the European Commission for political support regarding the project’s development.

Following an initiative taken by Slovakia, an MoU was signed at the CESEC meeting in Athens to bring Moldova and Ukraine into the Vertical Corridor project.

Besides TSOs from the seven participating countries, Gastrade, a consortium established by the Copelouzos group for the imminent Alexandroupoli FSRU at Greece’s northeastern port of Alexandroupoli, and ICGB, the consortium behind the Greek-Bulgarian IGB gas pipeline, are also involved in the Vertical Corridor initiative.

Competition remains strong for second storage auction

A total of 55 applications representing standalone batteries with 1,668 MW in capacity have been submitted by RES investors to a second auction offering investment and operational support for standalone batteries, a solid turnout ensuring the strong competition registered at the first auction will be maintained.

Investment and operational support will be offered to projects totaling 288.21 MW, meaning applications for participation have oversubscribed this capacity by 5.7 times.

The field of contestants will be finalized at noon today, when a deadline for letters of guarantee expected from participants is set to expire.

According to sources, most participants have already submitted their letters of guarantee with applications. As a result, the number of participants is not expected to diminish.

All participants face 100-MW capacity limit totals for projects submitted to the first two auctions. Helleniq Energy, power utility PPC and Intrakat already exhausted this limit through the first auction and, as a result, cannot participate in the follow-up procedure.

Virtually all other major energy groups with a market presence in Greece have applied to  participate in the second auction, sources informed. These include, TERNA Energy, Mytilineos, the Copelouzos group, Elpedison, MORE, Enel, EDF, EDPR, BayWa, KiEFER and Faria.

A total of 12 projects were successful in the first auction, securing guaranteed revenues of between 34,000 and 64,100 euros per MWh for a year. A starting price of 115,000 euros per MWh, for a year, has been set for the second auction. Bidding is not expected to drop below 45,000 euros per MWh, for a year, market officials have projected.

 

Gastrade Alexandroupoli FSRU anchors for testing, launch

The Alexandroupoli FSRU, a floating natural gas liquefaction and storage unit to be installed at the country’s northeastern port of Alexandroupoli by Gastrade, a consortium established by the Copelouzos group for the project’s development and operation, has just entered the Thracian Sea and anchored after setting sail November 26 from Singapore’s Seatrium shipyard, where the unit was developed over a period of nearly ten months.

The FSRU’s arrival to its permanent anchorage marks the completion of a project of major importance for the national and local economies.

In the coming days, the FSRU will be moored through a twelve-point mooring system before being connected to a high-pressure subsea and onshore gas transmission pipeline, which, once operational, will deliver gas to the Greek gas network and, subsequently, consumers in Greece, Bulgaria, Romania, North Macedonia, Serbia, Moldova, Ukraine, Hungary and Slovakia.

The FSRU’s commercial launch is planned for the first quarter of 2024, once testing has been completed. The unit will offer a 5.5-bcm annual liquefaction capacity.

 

March deadline for 20% stake in Ariadne Interconnection

Qualifiers through to the second round of a tender offering a 20 percent stake in Ariadne Interconnection, a subsidiary founded by Greek power grid operator IPTO for the development of the Crete-Athens grid interconnection, are expected to be set a 1Q 2024 deadline for their binding bids, energypress sources have informed.

All four first-round entrants have qualified for the procedure’s next stage following approval by RAAEY, the Regulatory Authority for Energy, Environment, and Water. All four are expected to maintain their interest and submit binding bids.

The procedure’s Virtual Data Room, to offer bidders full details on the project, is expected to be made available early in the new year, the sources noted. The shareholders’ agreement and business plan are among the details to be made available to participants.

The tender’s four second-round participants are GEK-TERNA; a partnership involving Macquarie Super Core Infrastructure Fund and Phaethon Holdings (Copelouzos group); Italian operator Terna SpA; and StateGrid International Development Belgium.

Taking into account the Crete-Athens grid interconnection’s current rate of progress, IPTO expects the project’s development to be completed late in 2024 and, following testing, be ready for commercial launch by mid-2025.

Progress is also being reported on the equity make-up of the newly established Great Sea Interconnector, another IPTO subsidiary, established for the development of the electrical grid interconnection to link the Greek, Cypriot and Israeli systems.

The Cypriot State, which has already expressed interest to become a shareholder of the Great Sea Interconnector consortium, is working on completing its entry by late January.

IPTO has also signed Memorandums of Understanding for the same purpose with TAQA, the Abu Dhabi National Energy Company, and Israeli fund Aluma. Other investors, including from the USA, have also expressed interest to join the Great Sea Interconnector consortium.

IPTO’ aims to complete the Great Sea Interconnector consortium’s equity make-up by the end of March, 2024 with a majority stake for the operator and the Cypriot State.

IPTO set to distribute 2 GW for offshore wind farm areas

Power grid operator IPTO plans, in a fortnight’s time, to distribute 2-GW in grid capacity to Greek sea areas selected to host the country’s first round of offshore wind farms, as part of the overall work being conducted by the Coordination Committee for the Connection and Development of Offshore Wind Farm Projects.

IPTO will present offshore wind farm areas to which the 2-GW capacity will be distributed at the committee’s next meeting, schedule to take place in two weeks.

EDEYEP, the Hellenic Hydrocarbons and Energy Resources Management Company, overseeing Greece’s offshore wind farm plan, presented sea areas marked out for offshore wind farm approximately one month ago.

A legislative revision securing a 2-GW capacity in the grid for the first round of offshore wind farms will be brought to Parliament for approval this coming Thursday, sources informed, confirming deputy energy minister Alexandra Sdoukou’s related announcement made just days ago at the official opening of Copenhagen Offshore Partners’ Athens office.

The 2-GW capacity in first-round offshore wind farms includes 600 MW marked out for pilot projects.

Last week, EDEYEP announced pilot-project permits for two companies, Aioliki Provata Trainoupoleos M.A.E, and Thrakiki Aioliki 1, SA, subsidiaries of Terna Energy and the Copelouzos group, respectively.

 

DEPA Commercial tender soon for PV parks totaling 495 MW

Gas company DEPA Commercial aims to announce, by the end of the year, a tender for the design, procurement and development of its first renewable energy projects, energypress sources have informed.

The tender will concern two projects totaling 495 MW, most of this capacity, 400 MW, for solar energy farms in Kozani, northern Greece, plus 95 MW for solar energy farms in Viotia, slightly northwest of the wider Athens area.

DEPA Commercial, which has shaped a new company strategy striving for vertical integration by also becoming an electricity producer, last year acquired New Spesconcept, holding a 222-MW RES portfolio, and North Solar, possessing a RES portfolio of 500 MW.

Besides its entry into the RES sector, with prospective solar energy projects totaling approximately 730 MW, DEPA Commercial also intends to partner with power utility PPC and the Copelouzos group in a new 840-MW combined-cycle power plant being planned for development in Komotini, northeastern Greece.

Also, DEPA Commercial, as part of its new strategy, has undertaken initiatives to expand its wholesale trading activity in foreign markets. This effort has significantly intensified over the past two years.

At present, DEPA Commercial is active in the Austrian, Hungarian, Romanian and Italian markets and has signed agreements to supply gas to Moldova and Albania.

DEPA Commercial, it should be noted, is the first Greek gas company to have become a member of the Hungarian Energy Exchange (CEEGEX).

The Hungarian market represents a pivotal gas trading hub in central Europe and is also located at the northern end of the prospective Vertical Corridor, a route running from Greece to Bulgaria, Romania and Hungary that will be created by interconnecting the transmission systems of these four countries to enable two-way transport of fuel between south and north.

Alexandroupoli FSRU on track for early-2024 launch

Development of the Alexandroupoli FSRU at the country’s northeastern port is progressing steadily and set for an on-schedule launch by the end of January, 2024, energypress sources have informed.

Tanker conversion work being conducted for the FSRU at Singapore’s Keppel Shipyard was 87.1 percent ready at the end of August, meaning all basic equipment, including burners and gasifiers, has been installed, the sources added.

Representatives of Gastrade, the consortium established by the Copelouzos group for the development and operation of the Alexandroupoli FSRU, visited the Keppel Shipyard just days ago.  The consortium’s chief executive, Kostis Sifneos, headed the visiting group.

The consortium’s members – the Copelouzos group’s Elmina Copelouzou, Gaslog Cyprus Investments Ltd, DEPA Commercial, Bulgartransgaz and Greek gas grid operator DESFA, all holding 20 percent shares – plan to soon hold a meeting to discuss the project’s steps leading to its launch, the sources added.

The FSRU vessel is expected to be ready to set sail for Alexandroupoli in mid-November, before reaching its destination in early December.

The Alexandroupoli FSRU, to offer a 153,500-m3 LNG capacity, will be connected to Greece’s gas network via a 28-km pipeline, through which gasified LNG will be distributed to the domestic market, Bulgaria, Romania, Serbia, North Macedonia, Hungary, Moldova and Ukraine.

The project will serve as a new energy gateway promising to play a key role in the energy security and independence of Greece as well as central and southeast Europe.

Ariadne Interconnection tender 2nd round starting next week

The second round of a tender offering a 20 percent stake in Ariadne Interconnection, a subsidiary founded by power grid operator IPTO to develop the Crete-Athens grid interconnection, will get underway next week with the opening of a Virtual Data Room for participants, energypress sources have informed.

All four first-round entrants have qualified for the procedure’s next stage following approval by RAAEY, the Regulatory Authority for Energy, Environment, and Water. They are GEK-TERNA; a partnership involving Macquarie Super Core Infrastructure Fund and Phaethon Holdings (Copelouzos group); Italian operator Terna SpA; and StateGrid International Development Belgium.

The VDR will include all required information – including a shareholders’ agreement and business plan – needed by the bidders to shape their second-round binding offers, which, according to the energypress sources, will face an end-of-2023 deadline.

IPTO tasked RAAEY with the responsibility of approving the tender’s second-round qualifiers in order to offer maximum protect to the procedure and avoid any legal ordeals.

Issues checked by the authority before approving the suitability of suitors included whether investors with stakes in any domestic power producer are eligible to enter Ariadne Interconnection, the concern here being conflict of interest.

RAAEY also examined whether China’s SGCC could participate through its StateGrid International Development Belgium subsidiary, as the Chinese company holds a 24 percent stake in IPTO.

 

DESFA forecasts gas demand increase of 25% by 2029

Gas grid operator DESFA expects a sharp rise in domestic gas demand over the next few years, seen rising 25 percent by 2029, according to company data.

Natural gas usage in Greece is projected to rise to 7.3 bcm by 2029, a 25 percent increase compared to 2022, when consumption reached 5.8 bcm. according to DESFA’s data.

DESFA anticipates domestic gas demand will reach 6.7 bcm by 2027 and approximately 15.5 percent over the next two years.

The anticipated rise in domestic gas demand by DESFA is closely linked to the development of new gas-powered electricity stations being established in Greece.

GEK-Terna and Motor Oil Hellas have teamed up for the development of an 877-MW gas-fueled power station in Komotini, northeastern Greece. This project is now under construction and slated for a commercial launch in early 2024.

In addition, power utility PPC, gas company DEPA Commercial and the Copelouzos group have established a partnership for the development of an 840-MW gas-fueled power station in Alexandroupoli, also in the country’s northeast. It is expected to be completed at the end of 2025.

DESFA forwarded its gas-demand data to ACER, Europe’s Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators, for an analysis concerning network fees proposed by the gas operator in consultation staged by RAAEY, the Regulatory Authority for Waste, Energy and Water.

ACER has described the amount of data provided for DESFA’s network fees proposal as insufficient.

The European agency wants RAAEY to clearly set the duration of the new formula for network fees, based on planned investments intended to stabilize gas network flow.

 

Crucial studies for Greek-Egyptian GREGY link in autumn

Extensive attention paid to the prospective grid interconnection that would link Greece and Egypt through the 3.5 billion-euro GREGY Interconnector project at a meeting yesterday between Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al Sisi in El Alamein reaffirms the strategic importance of this project.

So, too, does the involvement of Nikos Tsafos, the Greek PM’s special adviser on energy matters, and two Egyptian ministers, Tarek El-Molla, minister of petroleum and mineral resources, and Mohamed Shaker, minister of renewable energy, in working groups staged during the visit.

The GREGY Interconnector was recently favorably assessed by the European Commission for inclusion on its PCI/PMI list, but a series of challenging steps lie ahead.

Three crucial studies considered pivotal for the project’s prospects are planned to be staged in autumn – an environmental study, a final engineering study, and a seabed mapping survey, the trickiest and costliest of the three that will involve imaging of the seabed with a special vessel along the project’s 954-kilometer subsea route.

This latter survey is expected to require at least six months to complete. A vessel to take on the seabed mapping is expected to be commissioned in autumn through a tender.

Great water depths, such as those to be encountered in this East Mediterranean region, require expertise and experience possessed by few companies in the world.

Elica, a subsidiary of the Copelouzos group established to promote the Greek-Egyptian GREGY Interconnector, has come up with a budget estimate of 15 million euros for the seabed scan.

However, given the survey’s deep-sea nature and the fact that the proposed route’s seabed remains largely unknown as the area it covers has never before been scanned in detail, survey costs could escalate beyond initial estimates. Bad weather could also delay the effort. At best, a Final Investment Decision should not be expected before mid-2024.

Military approves national offshore wind farm strategy

The Hellenic National Defense General Staff has approved a national strategy for the establishment of sea plot areas to host offshore wind farms, subsequently clearing away a last set of obstacles so as to assure investors absolute clarity on regional licensing matters.

EDEYEP, the Hellenic Hydrocarbons and Energy Resources Management Company, is now excepted to deliver its national strategy for offshore wind farm development to the new energy minister Theodoros Skylakakis within the next few days.

Local authorities are aiming for investments worth 6 billion euros in Greece’s emerging offshore wind farm sector.

The plan will be fine-tuned at the energy ministry before being forwarded for consultation and finalized through a ministerial decision.

According to sources, the strategy’s first phase will include six offshore areas instead of five, as had been originally intended.

Even so, the plan’s nucleus is expected to remain unchanged. It consists of Alexandroupoli, in the northeast, planned to host two pilot projects offering a total capacity of 600 MW; Crete, where a further 600-MW capacity is expected to be offered with offshore wind farms at sea plots around the island’s northeastern edge, between Sitia and Xerokampos; as well the central Aegean, with sea plots to be marked out either close to the mainland or in the Dodecanese area for a further 900 MW.

Overall, the plan is expected to feature between 12 and 15 sea plots, including three or four east of Crete, two or three in the Aegean Sea’s east, two or three in the Dodecanese area, three spots east of Evia, close to the mainland, as well as two more off Alexandroupoli in the northeast.

Greek officials have, for quite some time now, been engaged in talks with the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Competition to establish a remuneration mechanism for offshore wind farms and related auctions.

Sector experts estimate that a first auction may, in a best-case scenario, be staged by 2028, ahead of the launch of a first group of offshore wind farms at the end of the decade.

GEK-Terna and the Copelouzos group recently joined forces for common survey work concerning two respective pilot-project offshore wind farms close to Alexandroupoli.

GEK Terna, Copelouzos join forces for offshore wind farm studies

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.

PCI/PMI list preliminary ratings out, GREGY a borderline case

The European Commission’s Directorate-General for Energy, preparing a shortlist of electricity projects for a sixth PMI/PCI list, including Projects of Mutual Interest and Projects of Common Interest, has just staged a teleconference with representatives of projects vying for a place on the list.

As for the PMI list, the Brussels officials, in addition to preliminary ratings for candidate projects, also presented their criteria and formula applied for appraisals.

The presentation of these details was necessary as, under the revised TEN-E Regulation, new PMI selection criteria are being used for the first time for projects also involving non-EU members.

According to energypress sources, the GAP Interconnector, an Egyptian-Cretan power grid interconnection project plan been promoted by the Eunice group, was not appraised, as had been expected, because it has not secured Letters of Support from the Greek state.

GREGY, another Greek-Egyptian grid interconnection plan, which is being promoted by the Copelouzos group, was given a preliminary rating of 9.3, just below the 10-level score required for inclusion on the PMI list.

GREGY project officials have until June 30, when the PMI shortlist will be announced, to enhance their project’s dossier with additional details that could boost its rating and secure a place on the PMI shortlist. Copelouzos group officials are confident this can be achieved.

The Euroasia Interconnector, planned to link the Israeli, Cypriot and Greek power grids, has amassed the points needed to secure its inclusion on the PMI shortlist.

A total of five European projects, two of these with Greek interests, have achieved preliminary scores offering places on the PCI shortlist.

One of the two Greek projects, Terna Energy’s pumped-storage station project plan for Amfilohia, northwestern Greece, was included on the EU’s PCI list in 2013, while all indications suggest it will retain its place on the list’s sixth edition.

The Eunice group’s Ptolemaida BESS, a 250-MW energy storage facility planned for Ptolemaida, northern Greece, has scored highly for a place on the revised PCI shortlist.

Offshore wind farms plan among first tasks for new gov’t

A national plan for the development of offshore wind farms is one of the first tasks that will need to be taken on by the next energy ministry, to be appointed following the upcoming second round of voting in Greece’s legislative election.

Prior to the election’s first round on May 21, the ruling center-right New Democracy party had prepared this plan’s fundamentals, marking out five areas to host Greece’s first phase of offshore wind farms, in the north and central Aegean, as well as off Crete.

Also, discussion on the plan with the Hellenic National Defence General Staff had reached an advanced stage.

As a next step, the new administration’s energy ministry must approve the national plan for offshore wind farms, and a related joint ministerial decision will need to be issued by numerous ministries involved, so that authorities can start preparing a Strategic Environmental Impact Assessment.

The area off Alexandroupoli is planned to host pilot projects offering a total capacity of 600 MW. The Copelouzos group has already secured a 216-MW production license for offshore parks in this area. In addition, it appears that three areas have been marked out east of Evia, close to the mainland and in the wider Dodecanese area, while a fifth area is situated off eastern Crete, between Sitia and Xerokampos.

The plan’s first stage involves offshore wind farms promising to offer a total capacity of 2.1 GW.

 

Three CCGTs to vie for two grid spots covering 1.9 GW, Aurora study shows

Three new combined-cycle gas turbine (CCGT) power plants will be vying for two spots on the electricity grid to cover an available capacity of 1.9 GW, a latest study conducted by Aurora Energy Research and covering the period between 2022 and 2030 has shown.

The Aurora Energy Research study estimated the grid’s available capacity at 2.7 GW but subtracted 820 MW to be offered by the Mytilineos group’s already-completed CCGT in Viotia’s Agios Nikolaos area, slightly northwest of Athens.

The three candidate projects are a CCGT power plant being co-developed by GEK TERNA and Motor Oil in Komotini, northeastern Greece; a power plant being constructed by power utility PPC, gas company DEPA Commercial and the Copelouzos group’s Damco Energy in Alexandroupoli, also in the northeast; as well as PPC’s Ptolemaida V, when it converts from a lignite to natural gas-fueled facility in 2028.

Development of Thermoilektriki Komotinis, the GEK TERNA-Motor Oil CCGT in Komotini, has reached an advanced stage and is considered the most efficient power plant in Greece. Once operational, it will emit 75 percent less CO2 than a lignite plant.

Work on the Alexandroupoli CCGT began last January and is slated for completion in 2025. PPC holds a 51 percent stake, DEPA Commercial has a 29 percent share, and the Copelouzos group’s Damco Energy maintains the remaining 20 percent. This facility will be equipped to also run on hydrogen and mixed fuel.

 

Brussels wants Egyptian RES progress to fund Greek link

The European Commission wants to see clear progress in Egypt’s RES development plan before committing to any financial support for the Greek-Egyptian GREGY Interconnector, a 3.5 billion-euro project being promoted by Elica, a subsidiary of the Copelouzos group, reliable sources have informed energypress.

Brussels has informed all parties involved in the GREGY Interconnector of its prerequisite for funding support, the sources noted.

Europe needs green energy, which is why the European Commission is backing Egypt’s electricity interconnection with Greece, but investment plans for the development of RES projects in Egypt need to proceed and this progress should be reflected and confirmed by concrete data, the sources informed.

European officials consider the GREGY Interconnector to be feasible as the cost of green energy in Egypt is much lower and EU demand for low-priced electricity is high.

However, the European Commission is also taking into account Egypt’s slow development of electrified RES projects, totaling just 6 GW, a modest figure given the country’s size and rich solar and wind energy potential. Greece, a far smaller country, has so far amassed almost double the capacity of operating RES facilities, currently offering 10 GW.

Egypt, according to the country’s official energy strategy, plans to develop RES projects with a total capacity of 61 GW by 2035. Brussels will be waiting to see clear signs of this plan’s implementation.

 

Greek-Egyptian GREGY grid link prospects face crucial period

A Memorandum of Understanding for the entry of Greek power grid operator IPTO into the equity make-up of Elica, a subsidiary of the Copelouzos group established to promote the 3.5 billion-euro Greek-Egyptian GREGY Interconnector, along with a corresponding move expected from the Egyptian operator EETC, undoubtedly represent votes of confidence for the project.

The interest shown by the two operators to become stakeholders in the GREGY Interconnector project boosts its development prospects ahead of an EU announcement, in June, of a shortlist of projects seeking PCI/PMI list inclusion for the next two years.

Three studies crucial to the development of the GREGY Interconnector, promising to transmit green energy to Europe, are planned to be commissioned over the next couple of months.

One of the three studies will focus on technical details, a second will examine the project’s financial aspects, while a third study, a challenging seabed mapping procedure to scan the project’s underwater setting over a distance of 954 kilometers, will take no less than six months to complete. Weather conditions will play a big role in this third study’s duration.

If all goes according to plan, a final investment decision sanctioning the project’s development is expected within 2024.

Full support for GREGY Interconnector’s PCI/PMI bid

The GREGY Interconnector, a 3.5 billion-euro project being promoted by Elica, a subsidiary of the Copelouzos group, to link the Greek and Egyptian grids, is fully backed by the Greek energy ministry, RAE, the Regulatory Authority for Energy, Egypt and Bulgaria, a presentation in Brussels last Friday of European projects seeking PCI/PMI list inclusion has shown.

This Greek-Egyptian grid interconnection, whose cable is planned to cover a 950-km distance, promises to transmit green energy to Europe.

Greece, it has become apparent, favors the development of the GREGY Interconnector over the Eunice Group’s alternate GAP Interconnector for a Greek-Egyptian grid link.

Hundreds of European projects seeking PCI/PMI list inclusion, which will secure EU support funds, were presented at last Friday’s Brussels event, staged by the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Energy.

Support for PCI/PMI list candidate projects by relevant ministries, respective national regulatory authorities, as well as states involved will weigh heavily in the European Commission’s overall assessment.

The GREGY Interconnector should score highly in this department, given the comprehensive support of the project by all parties involved.

Besides official Greek and Egyptian support, the GREGY Interconnector has also received Bulgaria’s backing as it promises to export Egyptian-generated green energy to the country.

Brussels’ shortlist of PCI/PMI projects is expected to be announced in June, while a finalized list should be announced late in the year.

 

DG Energy initial assessment of PCI/PMI list projects April 21

At least seven prospective interconnections concerning Greece and other major domestic projects for which PCI/PMI list inclusion is being sought by local officials are expected to be assessed by European Commission authorities following this weekend’s Greek Easter break.

These projects are among hundreds of energy infrastructure projects around Europe which related officials hope will be given the green light by Brussels’ Directorate-General for Energy for inclusion onto the PCI/PMI list, promising EU support funds. The list’s coverage was expanded this year to include projects also concerning non-EU countries.

Brussels officials are expected to make an initial assessment of PCI/PMI list candidate projects on April 21 before announcing a short list of candidates in June. A finalized list is scheduled to be announced in November.

As part of the initial assessment procedure, DG Energy officials will hold talks with contractors behind projects as well as government and regulatory officials for related information.

The Greek-Egyptian GREGY Interconnector, a project being promoted by Elica, a subsidiary of the Copelouzos group; an update of the Greek-Italian power grid interconnection, a project involving Greek power grid operator IPTO and Italy’s Terna; the EuroAsia Interconnector, planned to link the Cretan, Cypriot and Israeli electricity grids; an Egyptian-Cretan grid interconnection planned by the Eunice group; development of a crucial power transmission line from Filippoi to Nea Sanda in northern Greece; a pumped-storage station in Amfilohia, northwestern Greece, planned by TERNA Energy; as well as a power grid interconnection upgrade by IPTO between Meliti in northern Greece to Bitola in North Macedonia, are the seven Greek and Greek-related projects for which PCI/PMI list inclusion is being sought.

 

GAP Interconnector promising additional Greek-Egyptian grid link

The GAP Interconnector project, planned to link Egypt with Greece, via Crete, promises to serve as a further step towards transforming Greece into an exporter of green energy to the rest of Europe, officials of the Eunice Group, heading the project, budgeted at 1.3 billion euros, have highlighted at a news conference.

It represents an additional Greek-Egyptian grid interconnection project, following the GREGY Interconnector, a 3.5 billion-euro project being promoted by Elica, a subsidiary of the Copelouzos group.

The GAP Interconnector project promises to reinforce Greece’s geostrategic role, making it a transmission hub to the rest of Europe for RES-generated electricity from Egypt, Andreas Borgeas, the project’s chief executive and a former California Senator, told journalists.

A feasibility study has already been conducted for the GAP Interconnector, as have oceanographic studies to map the areas concerning the project’s route, the Borgeas informed.

Two cables to offer a 2,000-MW capacity and run from coastal Matruh in Egypt to Crete’s Atherinolakko, a distance of approximately 450 kilometers, will serve as the project’s backbone. Converter stations will be installed at both these locations.

The project, whose subsea cable installations will reach as deep as 4,445 meters off Crete and 3,500 meters off Egypt, was described as “challenging” by Borgeas, the project chief, who added advanced deep-sea cable installation technology is now available.

The aim is to establish a multinational consortium for the GAP Interconnector project and induct, as a first step, the US company McDermott, one of the world’s biggest developers of subsea projects, Borgeas informed. French, Greek and Italian companies are also expected to soon join this consortium, the official added.

The GAP Interconnector project and the GREGY Interconnector are not rival projects but they will compete for points concerning PCI-PMI lists, Borgeas pointed out.

A direct, straight-line connection from Egypt to Crete planned for the GAP Interconnector offers it a comparative advantage as it is shorter and subsequently lower in cost, Borgeas noted, adding the project lies entirely within the boundaries of the Greek-Egyptian exclusive economic zone (EEZ).

It is planned to be complemented by the Southern Aegean Interconnector (SAI), a 1.5 billion-euro project to connect Athens, the Dodecanese islands, and Crete.

Greek-Egyptian grid link prospects gaining ground

A prospective Greek-Egyptian subsea grid interconnection, planned to exclusively transmit green energy from Egypt to Greece as a means of increasing the energy-mix share of renewables in Greece and the wider region, while also bolstering energy security in Europe, has gained further ground on a number of key fronts.

Political support has been expressed, progress is being achieved on the project’s engineering study, and the Copelouzos group, seeking to develop the project, is in talks with potential investors.

As for the technical side, agreements are being worked on for a detailed engineering study as well as a feasibility study for the project, whose cable installation will reach as deep as 2.7 kilometers at certain sections.

A Copelouzos group team headed by its president, Dimitris Copelouzos, has held talks in Cairo with Egyptian president Abdel Fattah El-Sisi and other leading Egyptian officials on regions where wind and solar farms could be developed to feed the Greek-Egyptian subsea cable.

The focus of these talks, also involving Egypt’s minister of electricity and renewable energy Dr. Mohamed Shaker El-Markabi, was on developing wind energy facilities in areas offering wind speeds of more than 10 meters per second. Such speeds are exceptional, well over those of locations hosting Greece’s best-performing wind energy facilities, where wind speeds reach 6.5 to 7 meters per second.

As for the solar energy sector, production tariffs of between 15 and 17 dollars per MWh offered at previous auctions in Egypt, a country offering flat land, are extremely competitive compared to prices in the Greek and Italian markets, even if energy transportation costs to Europe are taken into account.

Solar and wind energy investments offering a total capacity of 9.5 GW are planned to be developed in Egypt by the Copelouzos group, with partners, at a cost of approximately 8 billion euros. European, US, Middle East and Japanese companies have expressed interest to join the Copelouzos group for these projects.

Though investor interest for the Greek-Egyptian grid interconnection is strong, the European Commission’s stance will be crucial as it will be called upon to decide on the project’s inclusion in the projects of common and mutual interest (PCI/PMI) list, which would ensure EU funding support.

The Copelouzos group submitted its application last December. Brussels is expected to release PCI/PMI short lists in June, followed by finalized decisions in November.

PPC, DEPA, Copelouzos confirm Alexandroupoli power station plan

Power utility PPC, gas company DEPA Commercial and the Copelouzos group have finalized an investment decision for the development of an 840-MW natural gas-fueled power station in Alexandroupoli, northeastern Greece, a project budgeted at a total of 480 million euros, including supporting projects.

The project was officially approved yesterday at a shareholders’ meeting staged by Ilektroparagogi Alexandroupolis, the consortium formed by the three project partners for this venture.

PPC holds a 51 percent stake in Ilektroparagogi Alexandroupolis, DEPA Commercial has a 29 percent stake and the Copelouzos group is involved with a 20 percent stake.

The three partners behind the 480 million-euro project are believed to have already secured financing from the National Bank of Greece. They plan to begin construction imminently and have completed the Alexandroupoli project by 2025.

The Alexandroupoli power station is expected to feature the lowest variable cost among all natural gas-fueled power stations operating on Greece, meaning it will hold priority status for wholesale market entry.

Its location will enable the facility to be supplied gas directly via the Alexandroupoli FSRU, now being developed by Gastrade, a consortium established by the Copelouzos group for the development and operation of the floating LNG terminal.

The Alexandroupoli power plant will be equipped to also burn hydrogen in a mixture of up to 50 percent.

 

 

Copelouzos: Alexandroupoli FSRU to transport gas to Ukraine

Gastrade, the consortium established by the Copelouzos group for the development and operation of the Alexandroupoli FSRU, a floating LNG terminal now being developed in Greece’s northeast, will also install an additional FSRU unit at the location, the group’s chief, Dimitris Copelouzos has asserted in comments to media, noting the facility will be capable of transporting natural gas to Ukraine.

According to sources, the Copelouzos group has already held preliminary talks with officials of the embattled country on the prospect of natural gas supply from Greece’s northeast.

A second Alexandroupoli FSRU is expected to be completed in 2025, as an addition to the first terminal at the location, now nearing completion.

The Copelouzos group chief, asked by journalists on the route to be used for transporting natural gas to Ukraine, responded: “Via the pipeline that is now empty,” a reference to the Trans Balkan Pipeline, which transported Russian gas to Greece through the Sidirokastro entry point in the country’s northeast until early 2020.

This route was replaced by Turk Stream in early 2020 so that Ukraine could be bypassed.

The Trans Balkan Pipeline runs from Russia, crossing Ukraine, Moldova and Bulgaria, before branching out to Greece and Turkey.

Investments, including compressor stations in Bulgaria, will be needed to fully utilize the capacity offered by the Trans Balkan Pipeline, sources pointed out.

Turbine installed at GEK TERNA-Motor Oil gas-fueled power station

A Siemens HL-class gas turbine, the first to be used in Greece, has been installed at a prospective 877-MW state-of-the-art combined cycle, gas-fueled power station being developed by GEK-TERNA and Motor Oil Hellas in Komotini, northeastern Greece, planned to be launched in early 2024, Motor Oil Hellas has announced.

The project, Thermoilektriki Komotinis, an investment estimated to be worth 375 million euros, promises to be one of the most efficient power plants in Greece. Once operational, it will emit 75 percent less CO2 than lignite-fired power plants.

Thermoilektriki Komotinis is the second gas-fueled power station that has undergone development in Greece over recent years, following the construction, by the Mytilineos group, of an 825-MW unit in Viotia, northwest of Athens, whose commercial launch is imminent.

Construction of a third gas-fueled power station, in Alexandroupoli, northeastern Greece, as a joint venture by power utility PPC, gas utility DEPA and the Copelouzos group, is scheduled to officially commence this Saturday.

The country requires at least three additional power stations to secure energy sufficiency, according to a recent study conducted by power grid operator IPTO for 2025 to 2035.

Some investors behind CCGTs stalling, others forging ahead

Energy crisis uncertainty and the singling out of natural gas for its exorbitant price levels are factors troubling investors behind new combined cycle gas turbine (CCGT) plant projects.

Some investors have stalled their CCGT investment plans, waiting to see how developments unfold concerning gas prices and availability, while, on the other hand, more aggressive players are forging ahead.

Elpedison has yet to reach an investment decision on a new 860-MW CCGT at the company’s Thessaloniki refinery facilities. Despite having begun some preliminary work, Elpedison’s partners – HELLENiQ ENERGY, until recently named Hellenic Petroleum (ELPE), and Edison – have put their Thessaloniki CCGT project on hold to appraise international and European energy market developments.

If developed, Elpedison’s prospective 860-MW Thessaloniki facility would add to the joint venture’s two existing facilities. The HELLENiQ ENERGY petroleum group is also planning an FSRU at the Thermaic Gulf, which would establish a Thessaloniki hub for the company.

The Copelouzos group has also been troubled by the adverse market conditions. Group member Damco Energy had secured a license for an 840-MW CCGT in Alexandroupoli, northern Greece, but the high cost of natural gas and overall market uncertainty prompted the company to not go it alone and seek partners for the project.

According to sources, power utility PPC and gas company DEPA Commercial have joined Damco Energy for the Alexandroupoli CCGT. Official announcements on the partnership are expected soon.

Elsewhere, the GEK TERNA and Motor Oil groups have begun working on an 877-MW CCGT in Komotini, northeastern Greece. The former, in its publication of first-half results, noted work on the “Thermoilektriki Komotinis” project is continuing, its scheduled launch unchanged for 2024.

 

 

 

 

 

Copelouzos in talks with Italgas for Depa Infrastructure stake of 10-20%

Greece’s Copelouzos Group is interested in joining a new company founded by Italgas after acquisition of gas company DEPA Infrastructure was officially completed, the Italian buyer’s chief executive Paolo Gallo has informed media.

Italgas and Copelouzos Group are currently involved in talks concerning a stake of between 10 and 20 percent for the latter in the new DEPA Infrastructure company, a stake closer to the lower level being likeliest, Italgas’ CEO noted.

The negotiations between the two sides could last anywhere between weeks and months, while there is no definite outcome, Gallo informed.

Italgas intends to offer an overall stake of as much as 49 percent in the new DEPA Infrastructure company. No other potential partners or initiatives have been revealed.

Gallo, responding to journalist questions, said it is too early to tell if there will be any organizational changes at DEPA Infrastructure.

However, he did confirm that the current CEOs at DEPA Infrastructure’s distribution subsidiaries EDA Attiki and DEDA, two of three in total, would remain at their posts.

As for EDA THESS, DEPA Infrastructure’s other distribution subsidiary, Italgas is still in the process of completing its purchase of a 49 percent stake held in this company be Eni. Price and terms have been agreed.

Italgas will aim for further gas penetration in parts of Greece where natural gas networks already exist, the CEO noted.

 

Shipping sector developing offshore wind farm interest

The shipping industry, domestic and foreign, is expressing growing investment interest for offshore wind farms and is awaiting the emerging sector’s regulatory framework to develop such projects in Greek sea territory, energypress sources have informed.

Though plans are still nascent, a considerable number of shipping companies and shipowners are already in talks with consultants for related feasibility studies.

Conditions for shipping industry players are favorable. Their earnings have skyrocketed amid abnormal market conditions, worldwide, ever since the outbreak of the pandemic in early 2020. These higher earnings have generated additional capital for investment, prompting shipowners to consider the potential of offshore wind farms.

Anticipating strong growth in this emerging sector, metals production group Viohalco plans to proceed with an investment estimated to be worth 70 and 100 million euros, which, through subsidiary Cenergy Holdings, will merge the knowhow of group members Hellenic Cables and Corinth Pipeworks for the establishment of the world’s first industrialized unit for floating wind turbines.

Norway’s Equinor, the world’s biggest developer of offshore wind farms, has already expressed interest to develop projects in Greece, proposing an area between the Cyclades islands of Tinos, Syros and Mykonos.

In addition, TERNA Energy has reached an agreement with Ocean Winds, a partnership between EDP Renewables and Engie, for co-development of offshore wind farms offering a 1.5-GW capacity. Also, Mytilineos has reached an agreement with Denmark’s Copenhagen Offshore Partners. Hellenic Petroleum (ELPE) is currently engaged in talks with a major foreign company and Motor Oil has signed an agreement with Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company (Masdar).

Power utility PPC is currently involved in talks with at least five foreign companies, including Australia’s Macquarie, which recently acquired a 49 percent stake in PPC subsidiary DEDDIE/HEDNO, Greece’s distribution network operator. PPC is also believed to be in talks with American fund Quadum.

The Copelouzos group has joined forces with RF Energy to establish Aegean Offshore Wind Farms, a company planning to develop offshore parks offering an 850-MW capacity.

Greek shipowners own 5,514 ships, controlling 32 percent of the world’s tankers, 25 percent of bulk carriers and 22 percent of LNG carriers, the latter category being crucial for Europe’s effort to end its reliance on Russian natural gas.

 

Copelouzos’ Greek-Egyptian grid link backed by leaders

The Elica Interconnection, a Greek-Egyptian grid interconnection planned by the Copelouzos Group, has received the backing of Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and his Egyptian counterpart Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, entrepreneur Dimitris Copelouzos, founder of the group, has informed journalists.

A preceding teleconference between the leaders of the two countries, with participation from the president of the European Investment Bank Werner Hoyer, is expected to result in EU funding for the project.

According to Copelouzos, the project is budgeted at more than 3.5 billion euros, of which 1.5 billion euros will be provided by a group of Greek banks. The project is also a candidate for the PCI list, enabling EU funding support.

The Copelouzos group had set its sights on this project from as far back as 2008. Its double subsea cable, to stretch 954 kilometers from El Sallum to coastal Nea Makri, northeast of Athens, promises to transmit low-cost green energy with a 3-GW capacity, of which one third will be provided to local industries and the other two thirds exported to fellow EU members.

More specifically, on the exports, 1 GW will be transported through the Greek-Italian and Greek-Bulgarian networks, while the other 1 GW will be used for hydrogen production, most of which will be exported to other parts of Europe.

Licensing and financing procedures for the project are being hastened as a result of Russia’s war on Ukraine as the Elica Interconnection promises to offer Greece and the rest of the EU yet another alternative energy source as part of the continent’s effort to restrict its dependence on Russia.

The Elica Interconnection is planned to be completed by late 2025 or early 2026.

Gastrade decides on additional Alexandroupoli FSRU by 2025

Gastrade, the consortium established by the Copelouzos group for the development and operation of the Alexandroupoli FSRU, a floating LNG terminal planned for Greece’s northeast, has reached a decision to also install an additional FSRU unit at the location, expected to be completed in 2025, as a follow-up to the first terminal, set for completion in 2023.

The consortium’s decision for an additional FSRU in Alexandroupoli had been in the making from as far back as last summer, when the energy crisis was at its early stages, but was accelerated by the long-term turmoil now seen in relations between the west and Russia following the latter’s invasion of Ukraine last week.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has further highlighted the need for Europe to reduce its dependence on Russian gas as soon as possible. A completely new reality now appears to be in the making.

Southeastern Europe’s gas needs to result from Europe’s reduced energy dependence on Russia, through strategic diversification, has increased the prospect of Greece’s northeast becoming an energy hub that would facilitate gas exports in all directions, including to Ukraine.

The Gastrade consortium is comprised of five partners, founding member Elmina Copelouzos of the Copelouzos group, Gaslog Cyprus Investments Ltd, DEPA Commercial, Bulgartransgaz, and DESFA, Greece’s gas grid operator, each holding 20 percent stakes.

All five partners have agreed to offer 2 percent each so that North Macedonia can enter the consortium with a 10 percent stake.