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Grant Thornton takes on Green Aegean cost-benefit analysis

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Greek Power grid operator IPTO has commissioned accountancy and advisory services firm Grant Thornton to conduct a cost-benefit analysis on the Green Aegean electrical grid interconnection project, envisaged to stretch from Greece to Germany’s south and provide a transportation corridor for RES output.

The analysis, an important step towards the project ’s further development, is expected to be completed later this year, by September or October. It will provide detailed information on crucial questions concerning whether the project can be deemed viable or not.

These questions include whether RES output will also be let out in Slovenia and Croatia or just Greece and Germany; as well as whether the project will be equipped with two or four cables.

In addition, the study will provide a template for a regulatory framework needed for the project’s operation; specify the project’s potential benefits for Greece and Germany; and offer an evaluation of the project under various scenarios.

Though an investment decision is still a long way off, IPTO wants specific figures offering investment clarity, based on specifications of similar European projects.

Green Aegean is planned to offer a 3-GW capacity for electricity transmission with potential for a further boost to as much as 9 GW.

The project’s initial budget has been estimated at between 8 and 14 billion euros, depending on the route’s specifics. An Adriatic Sea crossing from Greece to Slovenia, followed by an overland route to Austria and Germany’s south is currently envisaged.

Existing project data suggests energy consumers in Greece stand to benefit. The project’s launch has been slated for 2035.

 

Green Aegean entering crucial cost-benefit analysis stage

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TSOs of countries that have expressed an interest to participate in Green Aegean, an electrical grid interconnection project envisaged to stretch from Greece to Germany’s south, have begun working on non-disclosure agreements ahead of respective cost-benefit analyses.

According to an initial estimate, the grid interconnection project, to cover roughly 1,400 kilometers, was budgeted at between 7 and 8 billion euros, but the figure is likely to change as more detailed studies are completed.

TSOs of Greece, Germany, Slovenia, Austria and Croatia, a recent addition to the group of countries interested in co-developing the project, are expected to soon commence work on detailed technical and cost-benefit studies.

The studies will include details such as the type of cable technology and converter stations preferred, as well as the cost of each segment.

Greek power grid operator IPTO and its counterparts representing the participating countries – Slovenia’s ELES, Austria’s APG, Croatia’s HOPS, and TenneT, a Dutch TSO operating in a large part of Germany – are expected to each conduct separate preliminary studies before deciding on a final master plan covering the entire grid interconnection project.

The project’s cost estimation, a crucial stage, will be complex as each of these countries have different energy mixes.

IPTO’s chief executive Manos Manousakis held talks Tuesday in Brussels with TenneT’s CEO Mannon van Beek, on the sidelines of a meeting held by ENTSO-E, the European Network of Transmission System Operators for Electricity, for an Offshore Network Development Plan.

Germany has yet to make clear its intentions on the Green Aegean project. The project’s sustainability will be a crucial aspect in the country’s decision. Greek solar energy exports will need to represent a low-cost alternative compared to solar energy production in Germany’s south, the country’s sunniest region.

At present, Greek solar energy production costs between 35 and 40 euros per MWh, compared to roughly 50 euros per MWh in Germany’s south, a price gap resulting from Greece’s sunnier weather and, by extension, lower cost of production.

ENTSO-E: Greece key for harnessing offshore wind potential in southeast Europe

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ENTSO-E, the European Network of Transmission System Operators for Electricity, has, amongst other matters, underlined Greece’s importance in the exploitation of offshore wind potential in the Eastern Mediterranean region in its Offshore Wind Farm Interconnection Infrastructure Development Plan for the Eastern Mediterranean.

ENTSO-E held a meeting in Brussels earlier this week, where the development plan was presented. Greek power grid operator IPTO took part.

Italy is the region’s only country to have developed offshore wind farm projects thus far, but ambitious targets, given the current situation, for 2040 and 2050 will be achieved with countries such as Italy and Greece at the forefront, ENTSO-E noted.

The Eastern Mediterranean region’s South and East Offshore Grids will require energy transmission infrastructure totaling 8.7, 19.2 and 28.3 GW in 2030, 2040 and 2050, respectively, ENTSO-E has estimated, adding that investments needed by 2050 could reach 15 billion euros.

Environmental studies ahead of offshore wind farm projects may face fewer challenges and problems than corresponding onshore projects, ENTSO-E pointed out.

The Eastern Mediterranean region possesses strong wind potential and new offshore wind farms can help the electricity sector meet 2050 targets and become a zero-emission industry both in this region and the EU as a whole, ENTSO-E supported.

The development plan for offshore wind farms in the Eastern Mediterranean and Black Sea regions includes Greece, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Italy, Romania and Slovenia.

Greece, Cyprus, Croatia, Italy and Romania have all set official offshore wind farm development targets, while Bulgaria and Slovenia have yet to do so.

Croatia keen to join Greece-Germany electrical grid link

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Croatia has expressed an interest to join a group of countries engaged in advanced talks for the development of Green Aegean, an electrical grid interconnection project envisaged to run from Greece to Germany’s south.

Besides Greece and Germany, Slovenia and Austria are already involved in the talks for this project.

Greek deputy energy minister Alexandra Sdoukou appears to have been informed of Croatia’s interest to become a fifth member of this group on the sidelines of last week’s ministerial conference staged by the Central and South-Eastern European Gas Connectivity Group (CESEC) in Athens.

Croatia’s interest to join the Green Aegean project has been linked to the country’s plans to develop offshore wind farms in the Adriatic Sea.

A Croatian action plan presented last year indicated the country could develop offshore wind farms with a 25-GW capacity in the Adriatic Sea, a level of output that would establish Croatia as a major European player in this domain.

The Croatian government is well aware that the country’s anticipated excess renewable energy to be generated from mid-way next decade onwards would need to be exported as the domestic system will not be able to absorb the entire output. Greece faces a similar problem.

Green Aegean would benefit all parties involved. Germany needs to find ways to cover huge energy demand increases in the winter, whereas, at the opposite end, Greece faces greater energy demand in the summer.

EU support funds are serving as an incentive for related projects. The European Commission has made available 584 billion euros for electrical grid development in the EU, Brussels announced last November.

Greek power grid operator DESFA’s chief executive Manos Manousakis is scheduled to hold talks in Brussels tomorrow with Mannon van Beek, the CEO at Dutch TSO TenneT, operating in a large part of Germany.

Manousakis recently also met with Germany’s newly appointed ambassador to Greece, Andreas Kindl, to promote the Green Aegean grid interconnection plan.

 

IPTO pitches Green Aegean to new German ambassador

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Greek power grid operator IPTO’s chief executive officer Manos Manousakis has held a meeting with Germany’s newly appointed ambassador to Greece, Andreas Kindl, to promote the operator’s proposal for a Green Aegean grid interconnection plan, envisaged to run from Greece to Germany’s south.

To date, German officials have remained reserved, as was highlighted by a meeting last November between Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. The Greek leader made note of the Green Aegean project, describing it as a step towards independence from Russian energy, without reciprocation.

The Chancellor’s lack of expression on the project does not necessarily indicate that Germany is opposed to the Greek plan. It promises to be mutually beneficial for both countries. Germany encounters bigger energy needs during winter while Greece must deal with greater energy demand in the summer.

The meeting between Manousakis, IPTO’s CEO, with Germany’s new ambassador to Greece, could end up generating momentum for further talks between officials and convergence.

IPTO has expressed preference for a HVDC-technology subsea route for the Green Aegean grid interconnection that would pass through the Adriatic Sea to Slovenia, followed by an overland route to Austria and Germany’s south.

IPTO recently held related talks with TenneT, Germany’s biggest power grid operator, and Slovenian operator ELES.

 

PM to seek German leader’s support for south-north link

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Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis will seek to gain political support from German Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s administration for Green Aegean, an electricity supply corridor envisaged to run from Greece to Germany’s south, when the two leaders meet in Berlin today.

The project is listed high on the agenda of their meeting, topped by the Middle East crisis and Greece’s long-term fiscal program.

Mitsotakis will reiterate to Chancellor Scholz that Germany’s needs for low-cost green energy, expected to rise over the coming years, could, to a great extent, be covered via a south-to-north supply corridor, which would begin with a 3-GW capacity and gradually rise to 9 GW.

The Greek leader, who had presented the project at an EU summit last March and has since remained well informed on its prospects, believes its development prospects are feasible.

The Green Aegean project is envisaged to run from Greece, through the Adriatic Sea, across Slovenia and Austria, all the way to Germany’s south.

Mitsotakis may also discuss the Green Aegean project at an additional meeting, later in the day, with Friedrich Merz, leader of Germany’s main opposition Christian Democrats (CDU), as well as during public discussion tonight at a Konrad Adenauer Foundation (KAS) event.

IPTO submits Green Aegean proposal to ENTSO-E

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Greek power grid operator IPTO has submitted a Green Aegean grid interconnection plan, envisaged to run from Greece to Germany’s south, to the ten-year development plan of ENTSO-E, promoting closer cooperation across Europe’s TSOs to support the implementation of EU energy policy and achieve Europe’s energy and climate policy objectives.

The project’s inclusion in the development plan of ENTSO-E, representing operators from all of the EU’s 27 member states, would represent a significant first step towards PCI/PMI status for the project, securing EU funding, as planned by IPTO.

IPTO prefers a HVDC-technology subsea route for the Green Aegean grid interconnection that would pass through the Adriatic Sea to Slovenia, followed by an overland route to Austria and Germany’s south.

IPTO recently held related talks with TenneT, Germany’s biggest power grid operator, and Slovenian operator ELES.

TenneT has expressed strong interest in the Green Aegean grid interconnection and the prospect of collaborating with IPTO on the project’s development for a link with Germany’s grid in the southern part of the country.

HVDC-technology enables transmission of large quantities of electricity over long distances via submarine cables, as well as fast and accurate control of power flow, enhancing grid stability.

 

IPTO favors subsea route, HVDC for Green Aegean

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Power grid operator IPTO has settled on proposing a subsea route for the Green Aegean grid interconnection, a pivotal project envisaged to run from Greece to Germany’s south, which, according to the operator’s preferred route, would pass through the Adriatic Sea to Slovenia, followed by an overland route to Austria and Germany’s south.

The operator has abandoned an alternative overland western Balkans route for the project, through Montenegro, Croatia and Slovenia, over cost-related concerns. This route would entail upgrading pylons at outdated networks in these countries, making the venture financially unfeasible.

As a result, IPTO is now holding talks with TenneT, Germany’s biggest power grid operator, for its proposed underwater route, a more independent passage that would not require the usage of networks at any neighboring countries and be equipped with HVDC technology.

If IPTO’s envisaged route is finally adopted, then Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis’ proposal for the establishment of a European Grid Facility to fund upgrades of outdated Balkan networks and, subsequently, enable a Green Aegean crossing, will no longer apply. Mitsotakis presented his proposal during an EU summit last March.

Usage of HVDC technology for such projects is crucial as it enables transmission of large quantities of electricity over long distances via submarine cables; fast and accurate control of power flow, enhancing grid stability; and the interconnection of incompatible networks.

 

PPC chief to take part in Romanian Three Seas meeting

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Greece aims to bolster its geopolitical influence in the Balkans through energy, power utility PPC’s takeover of Italian group ENEL’s Romanian subsidiary ENEL Romania being a key part of this strategy.

In addition to PPC’s takeover of ENEL Romania, Helleniq Energy recently invested in Romania and had been preceded by Mytilineos – both in renewable energy projects.

PPC’s ENEL Romania takeover has prompted an announcement from Romanian president Klaus Iohannis, who named Greece as a new member of The Three Seas, a diplomatic initiative taken by Romania’s political leadership to bring together EU member states and candidates located between the Baltic, Adriatic and Black Seas for collaboration in the fields of energy, infrastructure and the digital economy.

Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Ukraine are the other members of The Three Seas initiative.

Iohannis, Romania’s president, will host a two-day meeting in Bucharest on September 6 and 7 for talks on collaboration in these domains. Ministers and entrepreneurs representing the aforementioned countries, including PPC’s chief executive officer Giorgos Stassis, energypress sources have informed, will take part at the upcoming Bucharest meeting.

Romania has become a geopolitical focal point as a result of the country’s close proximity to war-entangled Ukraine. In addition, Bucharest has established a pivotal role as a result of its support of Ukraine in the war with Russia and Moldova’s EU membership quest. Romania has also facilitated the movement of grain across its borders.

Greece’s greenhouse gas emissions down 8.3% in Q1

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Greece’s greenhouse gas emissions fell by 8.3 percent in the first quarter of 2023, the fourth-largest drop in the EU, according to data published by Eurostat.

Bulgaria registered the EU’s biggest greenhouse gas emissions reduction in the first quarter, down 15.2 percent, followed by Estonia (14.7%) and Slovenia (9.6%).

The biggest increases in greenhouse gas emissions were registered by Ireland, up 9.1 percent, Latvia (7.5%) and Slovakia (1.9%).

Overall, the EU’s greenhouse gas emissions fell by 2.9 percent in the first quarter, dropping to 941 million tons from 969 million tons.

Households were the biggest polluters as they were responsible for 24 percent of the EU’s greenhouse gas emissions in the first quarter, followed by the industrial sector (20%), electricity and natural gas sectors (19%), agriculture (13%) and transportation (10%).

PCI application in making for Greek-Austrian-German grid link proposal

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Austria and Germany are considering a Greek proposal for a 3-GW electricity grid interconnection, a project that would directly transport green energy produced in Greece to the two countries.

Energy minister Kostas Skrekas unveiled this project plan during a speech yesterday at the Renewable & Storage Forum, a two-day conference organized by energypress, continuing today.

Germany is believed to be seeking alternative green energy sources as, according to the minister’s comments at the conference, the country cannot develop RES projects in its south as a result of environmental measures protecting the Black Forest.

Sources informed that officials are working on an application for PCI classification concerning this grid interconnection.

Power grid operator IPTO, the sources added, has prepared plans for two alternative routes, one crossing Albania, Montenegro, Croatia and Slovenia, before reaching Austria and Germany’s south, the other a subsea route from Albania’s coastline to Slovenia followed by an overland crossing to Austria and Germany’s south.

Positive start for Greek, Italian, Slovenian intraday coupling

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The coupling of the Greek, Italian and Slovenian intraday markets took a positive first step yesterday with a successful trial. According to Greek energy exchange sources, the transition from local intraday auctions (LIDAs) to regional intraday auctions (CRIDAs) covering the three countries was successfully completed.

Two complementary CRIDAs have been staged without any problems, while a third session is scheduled to take place early today.

The first CRIDA session ended with electricity price levels at 149.64 per MWh, 14.31 percent below the LIDA auction level recorded a day earlier. The initial CRIDA session’s transactions represented a total electricity amount of 2.53 GWh.

As a result of the market coupling, intraday market transactions will no longer be limited to domestic restrictions but will also utilize the capacity of the Greek-Italian grid interconnection left over once electricity import and export activity, through day-ahead markets, has been completed by the two neighboring countries.

Utilization of the grid interconnection’s leftover capacity will offer greater flexibility to suppliers, producers and self-supplying consumers.

The coupling of the Greek, Italian and Slovenian intraday markets represents a first step towards European intraday market unification.

It is planned to be followed, on March 8, by Greece’s entry into the European Cross-Border Intraday Market (XBID), offering continual intraday market transactions, via Italy and Bulgaria.

Greek-Italian-Slovenian intraday market coupling in autumn

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Market coupling of the Greek, Italian and Slovenian intraday markets has been scheduled for September 21 through complementary regional intraday auctions (CRIDAs), a further step towards full unification of the European electricity market.

This market coupling move promises to bolster the liquidity of Greece’s intraday market, which has remained subdued since its launch several months ago, while also easing balancing market burdens of participants.

A liquidity boost in the intraday market is necessary for optimal management of intermittent production, as is the case with most RES units.

Greece’s coupling with Italy and Slovenia constitutes the first step in this direction, the intention being to avoid significant discrepancies for RES units and costs they cause.

The degree to which this coupling step will impact Greece’s intraday market remains to be seen, given the limited capacity of an existing subsea cable linking Greece and Italy, offering 500 MW.

This interconnection will require a capacity boost if high-level intraday market activity is to be achieved, as the infrastructure will need to be able to facilitate physical deliveries of electricity amounts ordered.

Also, the interconnection’s leftover capacity for intraday market trading will depend on the level of electricity import and export agreements established through the preceding day-ahead market.

For example, if, on certain days, the interconnection’s capacity is entirely taken up for day-ahead transactions, then intraday market trading will not be possible.

A second step in the coupling of Greece’s intraday market is planned with the country’s entry into the continual XBID (Cross Border Intraday) market with Italy and Bulgaria, planned for the first quarter of 2022.

PPC list of electricity import traders for 2019 contains surprises

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The main power utility PPC’s list of traders chosen for electricity imports in 2019 from grid interconnections north of Greece contains certain surprises.

A number of major players have not made PPC’s recently approved list of traders for 2019, while firms limited to minor transboundary electricity trade roles last year –  through Greece’s grid interconnections with Bulgaria, Fyrom (Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia) and Albania – have been included.

PPC’s list of traders for 2019 is comprised of Alpiq, CEZ, EFT, Elpetra, Enmar, Freepoint, Grand Energy, HSE, Green, LET and Terna Energy Trading.

Four of these, Elpetra, Enmar, Freepoint and Grand Energy, were not involved in any trading activity with PPC last year.

According to a related monthly industry report, electricity imports last December were provided by six traders, these being Alpiq (33.302 MWh), CEZ (19 MWh), EFT Slovenia (21.295 MWh), HSE (28.375 MWh), GreenEnv (33.116 MWh) and LE Trading (1.417 MWh).

PPC and Alpiq operate a subsdiary firm in Bulgaria focused on transboundary electricity trade.