EU support funds

Ministry planning support mechanism for green PPAs

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The energy ministry is seeking to establish yet another support mechanism, one subsidizing electricity absorbed by energy-intensive industries and other enterprises from renewable energy stations, whose cost the ministry aims to incorporate into the recovery fund.

Power purchase agreements (PPAs) reached between major-scale RES producers or aggregators with industries and other energy-intensive enterprises need to be reasonably priced if they are to ultimately prove beneficial for companies. The support mechanism would come into play here.

Green energy prices can be low and beneficial for industries and energy-intensive enterprises as RES stations have minimal operating costs once installed. These units merely have to cover investment costs and eventually make a profit for investors, once launched.

However, balancing market costs in target model markets, which significantly increase the cost of green electricity, also need to be factored into the equation.

The energy ministry will seek to subsidize balancing market costs by using recovery fund money as part of the effort.

The plan promises to help achieve two key goals. Firstly, RES stations will ensure supply channels for their production and thereby cement long-term performance figures, creating favorable conditions for bank loans financing green-energy investments. This would gradually increase the number of RES installations around the country.

As for the plan’s second key goal, energy-intensive industries and other enterprises with elevated energy costs would be ensured low-cost, eco-friendly electricity, subsequently boosting their level of competitiveness.

The support mechanism planned by the energy ministry will need to be endorsed by the European Directorate for Competition.

The government has high expectations for the success of this support mechanism as it acknowledges energy cost is a burden for Greek producers and other enterprises, including in the tourism sector.

Gas firms look to hydrogen for maintenance of EU funding

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Natural gas distribution and trading companies around Europe, including Greece, are turning to eco-friendly hydrogen in an effort to overcome European Commission financing prohibitions, following 2021, for fossil fuel-linked pipelines and other infrastructure.

Greece’s gas grid operator DESFA and gas utility DEPA are currently seeking ways to secure financial support for projects through EU funding and the European Investment Bank.

Converting these investment plans into eco-friendly projects by turning to hydrogen, a RES-generated fuel, is one alternative.

DESFA, counting on the experience of its main shareholders, Snam, Fluxys and Enagas – the trio’s Senfluga consortium controls the operator with a 66 percent stake – is examining the prospect of transmitting hydrogen through the national gas grid, the Greek gas grid operator’s chief executive Nicola Battilana told the four-day Delphi Economic Forum, ending tomorrow.

This DESFA investment plan could be revealed as part of the operator’s next ten-year business plan, now being put together.

DEPA chief executive Kostas Xifaras also spoke of the opportunities offered by hydrogen. The Greek gas utility and its Italian partner Edison are believed to be open to the prospect of establishing partnerships with third parties for hydrogen transmission through the prospective East Med pipeline.

Hydrogen has the potential to play a key role in energy transition and climate-change objectives, noted Aristotelis Chantavas, head of Enel Green Power Hellas.

Representatives of eight EU member states, Greece, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Lithuania, Poland, Romania and Slovakia, among them Greek deputy energy minister Gerassimos Thomas, recently stressed the significance of maintaining EU funding support for natural gas projects.

 

PPC, Terna, Copelouzos resume talks for Crete RES partnership

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Power utility PPC has resumed talks with Terna Energy and the Copelouzos group for a consortium to develop RES projects on Crete, but work is still needed if institutional complications are to be resolved.

The plan’s viability will depend on whether the consortium – if formed – can secure a contract with power grid operator IPTO to ensure a capacity reservation in the prospective Crete-Athens grid interconnection.

Approximately three years ago, Terna Energy and the Copelouzos group decided to merge two respective wind-energy projects covering Crete’s four prefectures, which took their combined capacity total to 950 MW, in order to facilitate an EU funding effort.

PPC also entered the picture just months ago, prior to the pandemic’s outbreak, for talks on the establishment of a three-member consortium. PPC Renewables, a PPC subsidiary, possesses wind-energy capacity on Crete.

The prospective venture planned by the trio entails transmission and sale to the mainland of 1 GW generated by wind-energy facilities. Each partner would hold a 33.3 percent stake in this venture.

 

 

New EU support plan to boost energy-sector investments

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The decarbonization plan, a third round of the Saving at Home subsidy program for energy efficiency upgrades at buildings, the electric vehicle market growth effort and renewable energy-hydrogen development are seen capturing the lion’s share of energy-sector funds expected to be made available to the country through a wider European Commission support package proposal entitling Greece to 32 billion euros, plus funds from the new National Strategic Reference Framework (NSRF) covering 2021 to 2027.

Over ten billion euros could end up being absorbed for investments in these four sub-sectors, according to enerypress sources.

The energy ministry, taking this prospective influx into account, is now shaping preliminary energy-sector plans to comprise part of a wider government plan.

An upcoming series of energy-sector privatizations are being attached to these plans as the increasing importance of energy as a growth tool promises to intensify Greek and foreign investment interest.

According to latest estimates, the amount Greece will be entitled to through the European Commission’s Just Transition Fund, designed to support regions impacted by the EU’s decarbonization policy, now stands at 1.7 billion euros. The new Brussels support package could more-than-triple this amount, according to some early estimates.

Also, the third round of the Saving at Home energy efficiency upgrade program, estimated at 350 billion euros, could now end up reaching a level of about one billion euros as a result of the new Brussels support plan.