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

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.

 

METKA winning bidder for PPC Renewables 200-MW solar farm

PPC Renewables has named METKA as the winning bidder of a tender for the development of a 200-MW solar farm in the country’s north, in the west Macedonia region.

PPC Renewables’ most ambitious project to date, it constitutes the third and largest section of a 230-MW solar energy complex.

Swift development of this third section is expected as PPC Renewables has already secured the project’s financing needs from a group of Greek banks.

Construction of the project, to be equipped with bifacial panels and trackers, is expected to commence in March.

As for the 230-MW solar energy project’s two smaller sections, both 15 MW, one is nearing completion while construction work at the other is in progress.

PPC Renewables, a subsidiary of power utility PPC, is also moving ahead with a tender for a 50-MW solar energy project in Megalopoli, Peloponnese. Bids submitted by five major groups, Greek and foreign, seeking this project’s development contract have been opened.

The Megalopoli solar farm is planned to be Greece’s first RES project that will not participate in RES auctions for tariffs. Instead, PPC Renewables intends to establish two-way contracts through the target model framework.

Over the next 24 months, PPC Renewables plans to begin developing projects with a total capacity of 500 MW, which would put the company on track towards achieving an installed-capacity target of 1.5 GW by 2024.

Parent company PPC’s updated business plan includes investments totaling 3.4 billion euros by 2023, 34 percent of these in the renewable energy sector. PPC is aiming for a fivefold increase in RES output, from 0.3 to 1.6 TWh.

PPC Renewables, possessing the country’s biggest RES portfolio following its latest moves and plans, may utilize some of its RES licenses for joint ventures with Germany’s RWE. Recent meetings between the two sides have increased the likelihood of a partnership.

Germany’s ABO Wind dominates RES auction’s PV category

Germany’s ABO Wind was the most dominant bidder at Greece’s latest RES auction, earlier this week, securing approximately one third of the photovoltaic section’s total capacity for five 10-MW projects in Igoumenitsa, northwestern Greece, according to a PV-Magazine report.

The German energy group submitted the auction’s lowest bids, 0.04586, 0.04587 and 0.04883 euros per KWh.

Wind energy projects secured a far greater total capacity than photovoltaics at the auction, 481 MW compared to 142 MW. Also, photovoltaics registered new record-low tariff prices for the Greek market.

Heliotherma secured tariffs for two solar energy parks of 11.9 MW each in Thiva, northwest of Athens at prices of 0.053 euros per KWh. Metka secured tariffs for four projects representing a total capacity of 11 MW.

Other successful bidders included PPC Renewables, securing tariffs for an 11-MW solar park, part of a planned 50-MW complex, in Megalopoli, Peloponnese.

The auction’s highest tariff price was 0.06245 euros per KWh, while the average was 0.04981 euros per KWh. A total of 39 projects secured tariffs at the auction.

Tariff prices for the auction’s wind energy section ranged from 0.05386 euros per KWh to 0.0577 euros per KWh.

Metka, Terna winning bidders for PPC Renewables 15-MW Kozani units

PPC Renewables has reached decisions to award two development contracts for respective 15-MW solar parks in the Kozani area, northern Greece, to Metka, a member of the Mytilineos group, and Terna, following two tenders, nearing finalization within the next few days, energypress sources have informed.

The imminent signing of these development contracts will signal the first steps in the development, by PPC Renewables, of a wider 230-MW solar energy complex, Greece’s biggest to date and one of Europe’s largest.

Construction work for the two 15-MW solar parks is expected to commence this coming summer, PPC Renewables anticipates.

The Kozani project will be spread across lignite mine locations operated by PPC Renewables’ parent company PPC, the power utility.

The 15-MW solar park to be developed by Metka will be equipped with its own sub-station and stationary mounts holding solar panels in a fixed position. This project’s total cost is estimated at just under 10 million euros.

The other 15-MW solar park project, to be constructed by Terna, will also be equipped with its own sub-station but, instead of fixed-position panels, will feature solar trackers, orienting panels toward the sun. This project will cost a total of approximately 11.5 million euros.

A tender for the Kozani project’s biggest segment, a 200-MW solar park, is still in progress. The deadline for bids has been slightly extended to June 11. Some 30 companies, Greek and foreign, have expressed major interest. Most are expected to submit bids.

PPC Renewables expects to have doubled its current installed RES capacity by the second half of 2021, up to 300 MW, according to the company’s chief executive Konstantinos Mavros.

A 600-MW installed capacity target has been set for the end of 2022. Looking further ahead, PPC Renewables is striving for a 1.5-GW total five years from now.

METKA to revise strategy and focus on RES sector, group chief informs

METKA, a Mytilineos group subsidiary providing a complete range of Engineering-Procurement-Construction (EPC) services for energy and infrastructure projects, will implement a new development model for the group’s construction division, to focus on the RES sector, Evangelos Mytilineos, the group’s chief executive, told analysts during an annual briefing held this week.

EPC projects that have propelled METKA over the past few years are ending, which has prompted the need for the corporate group’s construction division to revise its operational strategy and redirect activities, the CEO explained.

The new METKA growth model to be applied will focus equally on contracting and development of new projects, Mytilineos noted, describing the approach as a more efficient model promising better results for the company.

The chief executine noted that METKA sees major opportunities and growth prospects in the RES sector, especially its wind and solar energy sub-sectors. METKA has already developed a formidable RES portolio in Greece and abroad through a joint venture with EGN.

METKA EGN aims to establish a large-scale solar projects portfolio through an ongoing cycle of sales and development of projects, the objective being to achieve compounding growth. This approach, applied successfully by major international firms, has the potential to double METKA’s revenues, company officials believe. METKA EGN could be brought closer to METKA as part of the effort.

Commenting on the possibility of a second production unit at group subisidiary Aluminium of Greece, an investment worth 400 million US dollars, Mytilineos told analysts that a final investment decision would depend on forecasts as well as incentives to be offered by a new investment law for industry. This investment would need to achieve an Internal Rate of Return (IRR) of 17 percent to ensure its sustainability, according to the company.

 

Mytilineos to make three major energy sector moves, CEO tells analysts

The Mytilineos group, a key player in Greece’s energy market, intends to make three major moves in the energy sector, Evangelos Mytilineos, the group’s chief executive, told analysts and banking officials, in response to questions, during an annual briefing held yesterday.

Though the CEO did not elaborate, it is widely believed that one of these moves concerns an alternative plan for the environmental upgrade of Amynteo, a lignite unit excluded from main power utility PPC’s the bailout-required sale of lignite units. Local authorities have already submitted a lifespan extension request for Amynteo, in the country’s north.

It has already been reported that Mytilineos is among a number of industrial groups examining the prospect of investing in the upgrade of an ageing lignite-fired power plant currently operated by PPC.

Given the EU’s new environmental standards, the Greek power utility’s older lignite facilities will soon need to be withdrawn if they are not upgraded.

Mytilineos took part in the recent PPC market test staged by the European Commission for investor feedback and queries concerning the power utility’s bailout-required sale of lignite units.

Besides making clear his intentions to pursue plans in the energy market, Mytilineos told participants at yesterday’s briefing that all players, not just PPC, will need to proceed with significant investments if true market competition is to prevail.

Confirming forecasts, the Mytilineos group’s performance in 2017 exceeded expectations, the group’s chief executive informed. A turnover figure in excess of 1.5 billion euros is expected to be posted, the CEO noted, without offering a precise amount.

As for group subisidiary Aluminium of Greece, Mytilineos told analysts that an investment decision on a new unit will depend on the indications offered by related investment performance indices.

Commenting on the group’s METKA subsidiary, providing a complete range of Engineering-Procurement-Construction (EPC) services for energy and infrastructure projects, the chief executive said a new model placing emphasis on RES projects, especially in the photovoltaic sub-sector, would be pursued in the immediate future.

 

Mytilineos upbeat for 2016, Iran solar farm project revealed

The Mytilineos corporate group’s leadership, speaking with market analysts via a conference call yesterday, presented an upbeat picture for 2016, noting that second-half results will be better than those of the first half, and also disclosed that group member METKA, a leading international contractor and industrial manufacturing group, has been awarded a project to develop Iran’s first solar farm, a 10-MW capacity facility.

Evangelos Mytilineos, chief executive at the Mytilineos corporate group, stressed that the group’s financial performance in 2016 will exceed analyst forecasts. Last year, the Mytilineos group had performed better in the first half than in the second.

Evangelos Mytilineos was particularly optimistic about the corporate group’s energy division results for the second half of this year. He told analysts that the Mytilineos group is striving to make gradual and steady progress and highlighted a strategic agreement established by the group’s subsidiary firm Protergia with Cosmote, the country’s leading mobile telephony retailer, to serve the retail electricity market. Cosmote controls an extensive network of Germanos and Cosmote retail outlets around Greece.

CAT mechanism payments, which local electricity producers were deprived of during the first four months of the year as a result of the delayed implementation of the country’s temporary CAT system, will boost the Mytilineos group’s second-half results, the corporate group’s administration informed analysts.

As for the group’s metallurgy division, the chief executive informed that increased Chinese supply to the global market is lowering aluminium prices. Mytilineos said a new cost-cutting program would be implemented at group member Aluminium of Greece in 2017 and 2018, following two previous cost-cutting initiatives taken by the subsidiary.

Giannis Mytilineos, the head at METKA, announced the news of the company’s agreement to develop Iran’s first solar farm. Already underway, it is scheduled to be completed by the end of this year.

Also for Iran, the company has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to develop a 900-MW power station and is currently engaged in talks concerning financing options.

Banking restrictions in Iran have yet to be overcome despite the lifting, early this year, of western-imposed trade sanctions on the country. Once the banking hurdle is cleared, the power station’s development is expected to make swift progress and significantly boost METKA’s results.

METKA signs new EPC energy project in Ghana

METKA SA, a leading international contractor and industrial manufacturing group providing a complete range of Engineering-Procurement-Construction (EPC) services for energy and infrastructure projects, has signed a new EPC contract with Amandi Energy Limited for a new power plant in Ghana, the company announced in a statement today.

The agreement was signed in London on March 11, according to the statement. The project owner, Amandi Energy Limited, is jointly owned by A. Energy Development Limited and Aldwych International Limited, a leading developer and investor in energy projects in sub-Saharan Africa.

This is METKA’s second major project in Ghana and emphasizes the company’s commitment to becoming a leading player in the sub-Saharan Africa power market.

The project will be executed by METKA in consortium with General Electric, and includes the engineering, procurement, construction and commissioning of a 192MW combined cycle power plant in Takoradi.

The plant will be implemented with capability to operate on both natural gas and light crude oil, and will utilize the latest advanced version of General Electric’s well proven 9E gas turbine.

The project is scheduled to be constructed in 28 months, while the contract value for METKA is approximately $174 million.

Implementation of the project will commence upon completion of financing procedures, currently under finalization by a group of leading international financing institutions.

 

METKA EGN signs new solar EPC deals worth 112m euros

METKA EGN, a joint venture of Mytilineos group member METKA, which holds a 50.1 percent state, and the EGNATIA group, has recently signed a series of deals worth roughly 112 million euros for EPC (Engineering-Procurement-Construction) and O&M (Operation and Maintenance) work concerning seven solar PV power stations with a total capacity of 116 MW.

The biggest of these deals, concerning a 57-MW solar PV power station in Puerto Rico, was signed with Oriana Energy LLC, a subsidiary of the Sonnedix corporate group, a leading independer power producer (IPP). Besides providing EPC work for the facility, to be completed in mid-2016, METKA EGN will also offer O&M services.

METKA EGN has also signed a further six contracts for projects in the UK with leading investors, including Lightsource and Moser Baer, both METKA EGN clients, as well as Canadian Solar, a new client.

These new contracts highlight the international growth prospects of METKA EGN and establish the company as a key player in the global PV sector.