interconnected islands

PPC reiterates compensation request for island generators

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Power utility PPC has once again raised a compensation request for independent power generators it maintains as back up on the Cyclades  islands, now interconnected with the mainland grid.

The power utility reiterated its compensation request in a letter to RAAEY, the Regulatory Authority for Waste, Energy and Water, as part of consultation on power grid operator IPTO’s ten-year development program.

As noted by PPC in its letter to RAAEY, the regulatory framework should define responsibilities and obligations for the provision of emergency reserves.

However, it added, the regulatory framework governing the operation of independent power generators in cases when island systems are interconnected with the mainland remains incomplete.

Decarbonization fund €4bn boost for island energy transition

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The energy transition plan concerning the Greek islands could receive as much as 4 billion euros in support from the decarbonization fund, authorities participating at an event staged by HAEE, the Hellenic Association for Energy Economics, have indicated.

The HAEE event, titled “Green Transition Cost and Island Decarbonization”, involved the participation of leading authorities, including the energy ministry’s secretary-general Alexandra Sdoukou.

A change in the energy production model of islands is fundamental for the decarbonization effort concerning the islands, Sdoukou pointed out.

The government is aiming to incorporate as many RES facilities as possible on islands, either in the form of hybrid projects with energy storage or as independent solar and wind energy units, wherever grid interconnections are available, Sdoukou told the event.

Kostas Andriosopoulos, professor at the Audencia Business School and CEO of Akuo Energy Greece, estimated that funds to be made available from the decarbonization fund for the island energy transition may reach 4 billion euros, beginning with 2 billion euros, based on current emission right prices.

IPTO investments, including island grid links, up sharply over past 4 years

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Investments made by power grid operator IPTO in the first nine-month period of 2021, for the development of crucial grid projects, including island grid interconnections, as well as upgrades of existing facilities, reached 241.8 million euros, exceeding, by more than 100 million euros, amounts spent during equivalent periods in any of the years prior to the operator’s split from power grid operator PPC in June, 2017, through an ownership unbundling procedure.

Since 2018, IPTO’s investments in grid projects have reached 1.12 billion euros, more than double the amount tallied in the preceding four-year period between 2013 and 2016, when a total of 489 million euros was invested.

The operator’s investment strategy has focused on accelerating grid interconnection projects serving Aegean Sea islands, thereby ending their energy isolation while also reducing the environmental and financial impact of local high-polluting and costly generators used on non-interconnected islands.

Motor Oil, PPC Renewables in talks for major wind energy park

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Talks between PPC Renewables and the Motor Oil Hellas group for joint development, installation and operation of an island-based wind energy farm with a capacity of approximately 100 MW have reached an advanced stage, sources have informed.

The project’s feasibility, however, will depend on the development of a grid interconnection with the mainland system.

PPC Renewables and Motor Oil are currently examining details concerning the prospective wind farm’s sustainability, interconnection and financing. Once they have reached conclusions, the two sides will decide on whether to proceed with the project.

PPC Renewables and Motor Oil have already joined forces to express first-round interest in a tender offering a stake in DEPA Trade, a new entity established by gas utility DEPA.

PPC Renewables has set as a strategic objective the formation of partnerships with domestic and foreign players for new projects not included in the existing portfolio of parent company PPC, the power utility. PPC Renewables intends to develop these new projects without involvement by PPC.

The company’s wind energy park plan with Motor Oil could serve as a base for more projects involving the two sides.

PPC Renewables has already planned a series of collaborations with foreign partners, including Germany’s RWE, UAE group Masdar Taaleri Generation  D.O.O. (MTG), as well as EDP Renoveis, a Portuguese company with a Chinese main shareholder. PPC Renewables is striving to have developed RES projects with a total capacity of 1.5 GW by 2024.

Motor Oil has made clear its plan to broaden its portfolio with emphasis on green energy. The refining group wants to establish a solid presence in the renewable energy market through acquisitions and partnerships.

Motor Oil has already completed two acquisitions, a wind-energy purchase from Stefaner and a solar energy project acquisition from Metka EGN, a member of the Mytilineos group.

 

IPTO island links over next 10 years to offer 2.6 GW capacity

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Power grid operator IPTO’s interconnections planned for the next decade will prepare the ground for new island-based RES projects representing a total capacity of 2.6 GW.

The operator’s ten-year national electricity grid development plan for 2021 to 2030, forwarded to RAE, the Regulatory Authority for Energy, for approval, offers major investment opportunities in the renewable energy sector.

Wind and solar energy farms operating on islands will be able to transmit their output to the mainland via underwater cables.

The IPTO ten-year plan offers a RES project installation capacity of 2,442 MW for Crete, the Cyclades, the Dodecanese and the northeast Aegean islands. This capacity represents potential investments estimated at 2.6 billion euros.

The completion of all four phases of the Cyclades interconnections, scheduled for the second half of 2024, will offer 332 MW for this region. Andros and Tinos will have a RES installation capacity of 72 MW, the capacity for Syros, Paros, Mykonos and Naxos will total 160 MW, while Santorini, Folegandros, Milos and Serifos will be offered a 100-MW installation capacity.

The completion of Crete’s small-scale mainland interconnection to the Peloponnese, scheduled for the second half this year, will offer a RES installation capacity of 160 MW. A further 600 MW will be added once the island’s major-scale interconnection to Athens is completed in 2023, when Crete’s wind and solar energy capacity total of new and existing RES projects is expected to reach 1,080 MW.

The RES expansion capacity on the Dodecanese and northeast Aegean islands will reach 1,030 MW, according to the IPTO ten-year plan. Samos, Chios and Lesvos will be offered a 360-MW share of this total; Limnos, Kos, Rhodes and Karpathos will get 570 MW, while Skyros will be offered the remaining 100 MW.

The grid interconnections in the island regions will be developed over three phases to be respectively completed in 2027, 2028 and 2029, according to the IPTO plan.

 

IPTO looks to utilize battery storage system, island pilot project explored

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Power grid operator IPTO is looking to utilize large-capacity batteries, a rapidly developing technology, to improve its network stability and performance.

The installation of a battery as a centralized energy storage unit on one of the interconnected islands is being explored by the operator as a pilot project, sources informed.

An island and the battery’s capacity have yet to be determined but a pilot project will soon be launched, the sources said.

This technology’s potential, any drawbacks, cost and benefits will all be assessed during the pilot project.

IPTO does not intend to use energy storage systems to sell electricity to the grid, but the operator could end up being compensated for providing back-up services.

The pilot project’s storage system installation may be made within 2020, sources said.

IPTO appears open to partnerships with other companies. Initial talks on the matter are believed to have been held with at least one energy company.