Prysmian

GREGY gaining momentum, investment decision early ’25

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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.

 

IPTO announces provisional contractors for island substations

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TERNA and a partnership comprising Nari and Electromec have been named provisional winners of a tender staged by power grid operator IPTO for contracts to develop substations at the Greek islands Folegandros, Milos and Serifos, all planned to be interconnected to the mainland grid by 2025.

TERNA was named provisional contractor for the development of substations on Folegandros and Milos, the first section of the tender, while Nari and Electromec were named provisional contractors for a substation on Serifos, the second section of the tender.

IPTO aims to have contracts signed for these projects by June. These two tenders are part of the fourth phase of grid interconnections linking the Cyclades with the mainland.

Interested parties faced a July, 6, 2022 deadline. A total of six companies or partners submitted bids for this tender, three for each section.

IPTO has already awarded contracts for the installation of subsea cables to link Folegandros, Milos and Serifos with the mainland grid. The winning bidders were announced by the operator last November.

Hellenic Cables was awarded a contract to install subsea cables from coastal Lavrio, southeast of Athens, to Serifos and from Serifos to Milos, two sections covering a total length of 170 kilometers and priced at 195 million euros.

The Prysmian group was awarded a contract to install subsea cables from Milos to Folegandros and Folegandros to Santorini, two sections covering a total length of 127 kilometers and priced at 150 million euros.

The 4th phase of the Cyclades grid interconnection is budgeted at 524 million euros in total, of which 165 million euros is being covered by the recovery fund.

Once completed, the 4th phase of the Cyclades grid interconnection is expected to reduce annual carbon emissions by approximately 150,000 tons, create grid capacity of up to 730 MW for the development of RES facilities in the region, and also significantly reduce public service compensation (YKO) surcharges added to electricity bills for subsidizing high-cost local power generation on Greek islands.

Work on Crete-Athens grid link nears launch after approvals

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The Court of Auditors has approved contracts offered to winning bidders for installation of the Crete-Athens grid interconnection’s four cable segments, enabling the signing of contracts for the one billion-euro project’s biggest stage, budgeted at 615 million euros, probably within the month, energypress sources have informed. Work will then be able to commence.

Prysmian, Nexans and Hellenic Cables-NKT were awarded contracts for the project’s four cable segments. Prysmian secured two of these four contracts.

On another front, the Court of Auditors is expected to approve a contract for the project’s other key stage, the design, supply and installation of two converters and a substation, in June, according to sources.

Siemens – Terna, a member of the GEK TERNA group, submitted an improved bid of 370 million euros late last month to be awarded this contract by power grid operator IPTO’s fully-owned subsidiary Ariadne Interconnection, the project promoter.

The Court of Auditors’ approval of contracts for the project’s four cable segments follows a recent decision by the environment and energy ministry endorsing the 1,000-MW project’s environmental terms.

EU funding for the project through the NSRF (2014 – 2020) is expected to be approved within the next week to ten days, according to reliable sources. This would subsequently also offer IPTO access to bank financing.

Crete link environmental terms, needed for contracts, soon

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The energy ministry will publish the environmental terms for Crete’s major-scale grid interconnection with Athens, needed for project contracts, within the first ten days or March, power grid operator IPTO, the project’s promoter, anticipates.

The delivery of these terms will enable the winning bidders for the project’s cable installations, Prysmian, Nexans and Hellenic Cables – NKT, to sign project contracts with the operator, probably two to three weeks later, somewhere between late March and early April.

Meanwhile, appraisals of offers submitted by bidders for project converter stations are believed to be nearing completion. Two consortiums, Terna-Siemens and Mytilineos-General Electric-Nari have submitted offers to the tender for converter stations.

Construction of the major-scale grid interconnection, from Crete to Athens, will be able to commence once the cable and converter station contracts have been signed.

IPTO insists the project will be fully operational in 2023.

Work on Crete’s small-scale grid interconnection with the mainland, from Crete to the southern Peloponnese, is progressing as scheduled, IPTO has informed.

The installation of this segment’s submarine cables, awarded to Prysmian and Hellenic Cables, is scheduled to be completed around November, according to IPTO’s schedule.

This segment involves deep-sea cable installation work at more than 1,000 meters below sea level, an effort said to be unprecedented anywhere in the world.

Swift solution needed for Crete link project’s local resistance

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The energy ministry is working to overcome resistance raised by regional authorities in Crete against the installation of a converter station needed for a submarine electricity grid interconnection project to link the island with Athens.

Cretan regional authorities have delivered a negative report on a plan by power grid operator IPTO, the project’s promoter, to install a converter station at Damasta in the Heraklion province.

The ministry needs to resolve the issue in order to issue an environmental permit for the interconnection project. The project’s completion target of 2023 could be threatened if this issue is not swiftly resolved.

A new round of talks involving top-ranked officials at the energy ministry and RAE, the Regulatory Authority for Energy, and Cretan regional authorities could be held during the current week. Alternative solutions and offsetting measures that would compensate locals for any negative impact caused by the project are expected to be discussed.

IPTO appears set to sign an agreement with Prysmian, Nexans and Hellenic Cables – NKT, the winning bidders in a tender for the project’s cables. However, the pending environmental permit is needed.

Technical aspects of bids submitted to another project tender concerning two other converter stations and a substation are currently being assessed. Two consortiums, Terna – Siemens and Mytilineos – General Electric – Nari submitted bids for this tender.

Its next stage, an assessment of financial offers submitted by the aforementioned participants, will be made early in the year, Ariadne, an IPTO subsidiary formed for the Cretan interconnection project, has informed.

Cyclades submarine interconnection enters final stage

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The second phase of the Cyclades submarine cable interconnection has entered its final stage with the installation of cables from Evia to Andros and Andros to Tinos set to begin next week.

Italian company Prysmian, awarded the project by power grid operator IPTO, will begin work from Andros, energypress sources informed.

Existing power lines covering these two segments are being upgraded, for a capacity increase, at a cost of 21.2 million euros. Work on the two sections is expected to be completed by the end of this year, according to a contract signed between IPTO and Prysmian.

IPTO and the Italian firm had also collaborated for the Cyclades interconnection project’s first stage, linking coastal Lavrio, southeast of Athens, with Syros.

Just days ago, work was completed on the installation of a submarine cable linking the mainland with the Peloponnese at the Rio-Antirrio crossing. This project was undertaken by a consortium comprising Hellenic Cables and Fulgor.