telethermal

West Macedonia region maintaining role as energy hub in Greece

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The country’s west Macedonia region in the north, traditionally a lignite-based energy hub in Greece, will maintain this role for years to come, while, at the same time, perform a challenging balancing act as it transitions towards the post-lignite era through the development of eco-friendly projects.

Power utility PPC is, on the one hand, ensuring the grounds at its lignite-fired power stations in the west Macedonia region are fully stocked with lignite to cover high-demand situations, should they arise, until 2025, while, on the other hand, projects such as a green-energy data center, and a hydrogen innovation hub are being developed nearby.

PPC is also set to launch its new Ptolemaida V power station, a 616-MW facility that will initially operate as a lignite-fired facility before converting to natural gas.

Post-lignite era projects planned for completion in this region by 2030 are valued at 4 billion euros. They include natural gas-related projects for the transition towards a green economy and solar farms.

A flagship project of this effort, a 550-MW capacity PPC Renewables solar farm, one of Europe’s biggest, is being developed by TERNA at the former Ptolemaida lignite mine. PPC Renewables is also developing a 251-MW solar farm in Ptolemaida, a 299-MW solar farm at Amynteo, and an 88-MW solar farm in Florina.

Other projects leading the west Macedonia region to a new era include a nearly-completed 147 million-euro gas pipeline being developed by gas grid operator DESFA. This project, to expand the gas network’s reach to Edessa, Skydra, Naousa, Veria, Florina, Amynteo, Ptolemaida, Kozani and, at a latter stage, Kastoria, is scheduled to operate by August, 2023, according to DESFA.

In addition, telethermal projects worth 170 million euros are planned for development in west Macedonia to maintain heating costs at reasonable levels for households and shops.

Post-lignite telethermal plan presented in Parliament

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Sustainable heating solutions for the residents of provincial cities in Greece’s Mecedonia region, as well as Megalopoli, in the Peloponnese, to replace telethermal systems supported by power utility PPC’s regional lignite-fired power stations that are gradually being withdrawn, have been included in an upgraded just transition plan presented in Parliament yesterday.

This replacement plan was included in a memorandum of understanding and strategic cooperation signed last September by regional and municipal authorities, PPC officials and gas grid operator DESFA.

The plan features the development of network interconnections as well as a thermal hub consisting of the Ptolemaida V power station, now being developed for an annual capacity of between 300-400 MWh; a new combined heat and power (CHP) unit expected to produce between 270 and 350k MWh per year; electric boilers (0-125k MWh per year); and a natural gas boiler (10-125k MWh per year).

According to the plan, the Kardia region will be equipped with 80-MWth electric boilers by October, 2021, to eventually serve as back-up for the system, while new natural gas-fueled thermal energy facilities will also be developed for a total capacity of 160 MWth, along with a CHP unit and natural gas boilers.

 

Natural gas-fueled generation reaches energy-mix record share of 56.64%

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The energy mix contribution of natural gas increased to a record-level share of 56.64 percent in October, a latest energy exchange monthly report has shown.

This significant rise in the energy-mix share of natural gas – to a level never before reported since the full liberalization of Greece’s electricity market – has been attributed to a major slowdown of power utility PPC’s lignite-based generation.

Natural gas-fueled power stations operated by power utility PPC and independent producers further consolidated their place in the energy mix standings, stretching further ahead of other fuel categories.

October’s 56.64 percent energy-mix share captured by natural gas broke this fuel’s previous record of 53.76 percent, registered in August. The natural gas energy-mix share had dipped slightly to 51.74 percent in September before rebounding for October’s record-breaking result.

A year earlier, the natural gas energy mix share was below 50 percent, at 49.86 percent, while lignite’s share was at approximately 22 percent.

Returning to the latest energy-mix figures, natural gas was followed by the RES sector, capturing 33.86 percent, lignite’s share shrunk further to 4.25 percent, and hydropower followed with a 3.21 percent share.

PPC’s lignite-based generation could rise slightly in coming months to cover telethermal needs.

The role of natural gas in the ongoing energy transition towards renewable energy dominance is expected to play a pivotal role for the grid’s sufficiency and security.

Target model’s first two-way contracts for PPC unit telethermal needs

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The target model, launched last Sunday, has already produced a first batch of two-way agreements, involving power utility PPC and its supply division, the off-taker, for lignite-fired capacity totaling 309 MW, presumably for telethermal needs at the utility’s Agios Dimitrios III and Kardia III facilities.

PPC’s two-way agreements concerning the lignite-fired power stations do not seem to be influencing market prices – at least not overtly.

DEDA gas network expansion plan for northern Greece areas approved

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A revised five-year plan by gas distributor DEDA, now also incorporating northern Greece’s provinces of Ptolemaida, Kozani and Amynteo into the company’s network expansion plan, has been approved by RAE, the Regulatory Authority for Energy.

The three areas were included in DEDA’s original plan but later withdrawn as a result of company decisions on telethermal planning.

The new networks, all medium-pressure systems, will be expanded at towns within the three provinces and their industrial zones but not in the capital cities of Ptolemaida, Kozani and Amynteo, where telethermal systems will operate.

DEDA, now under the wings of DEPA Infrastructure, a new entity formed by gas utility DEPA ahead of its privatization, covers areas not served by EDA Attiki (wider Athens) and EDA Thess (Thessaloniki and Thessaly).

Meanwhile, gas grid operator DESFA’s ten-year development plan covering 2021 to 2030 envisages the construction of a metering and regulating (M&R) station in the Eordaia municipality’s Perdikkas area to secure its access to natural gas and telethermal systems.

PPC green plan includes pumped storage, hydrogen, old generator use

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Power utility PPC’s green-energy plan represents a key part of the company’s new business plan, along with a newly adopted customer-oriented approach and the digital transformation of production and distribution networks, deputy chief executive Giannis Kopanakis has pointed out during a speech at the 3rd Athens Investment Forum.

PPC’s green energy plan will be based on decarbonization, through a gradual withdrawal of the corporation’s lignite-fired power stations, and RES market penetration, the deputy noted.

Telethermal need coverage, development of large-scale solar energy farms at former lignite mines, and investments in energy storage, biomass, hydrogen and other new technologies all feature in the transition plan for lignite-dependent local economies, Kopanakis told the conference.

As for energy storage, PPC, besides batteries, also intends to develop pumped-storage systems at depleted lignite sites, appropriate for use as small-scale reservoirs.

The development of hydrogen producing facilities, also included in the PPC plan, will greatly depend on decisions concerning the fuel mix the corporation’s new Ptolemaida V power station will run on beyond 2028.

PPC also plans to utilize existing mechanical equipment of lignite-fired power stations either closed or headed for closure through use at other company facilities. Generators at old power stations are planned to be converted into condensers for grid voltage stability. Such systems will be needed as a result of the sharp increase in RES stations.

PPC’s investment plan, budgeted at 2.2 billion euros, is expected to create at least 900 permanent jobs as well as 3,000 temporary positions, for the construction of new projects, Kopanakis said.

 

Just Transition Fund excludes support for all gas projects

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The EU’s Just Transition Fund, takings its cue from the European Investment Bank, has left natural gas projects of its funding list, noting it will not provide financial support for any investments concerning production, processing, distribution, storage or consumption of fossil fuels.

This exclusion creates issues for all the country’s natural gas projects, big or small, which authorities would have wanted to be supported by the Just Transition Fund.

They include a power utility PPC plan for a combined gas-fueled cooling, heat and power plant in Kardia, northern Greece, for coverage of the west Macedonia region’s telethermal needs, announced by the energy minister Costis Hatzidakis just days ago.

Other Greek project plans such as the Alexandroupoli FSRU and the development of an underground natural gas storage (UGS) facility at a virtually depleted offshore gas field south of Kavala have already been rejected by the EIB, unless hydrogen is incorporated into their plans to convert them into eco-friendly projects.

Natural gas, emitting approximately half the amount of CO2 produced by coal, also spills out methane, an undesired greenhouse gas.

Climate protection advocates insist new natural gas units could end up operating for decades, which would threaten the EU objective for zero emissions by 2050.

Fast-track procedures pursued for green island pilot project

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Fast-track licensing procedures deviating current regulations will be pursued by authorities to transform Agios Efstatios, colloquially referred to as Ai Stratis, a small island in the northeast Aegean, into a green island with RES production systems covering 85 percent of local energy needs for a population of less than 300.

This renewable energy pilot project, organized and developed by KAPE, Center for Renewable Energy Sources and Saving (CRES), with the energy ministry’s secretary-general Alexandra Sdoukou is expected to be completed in two years.

A RES hybrid station, telethermal unit converting excess RES output into thermal energy stored in hot water tanks, and a telethermal network fully covering local needs will all be developed.

 

PPC, decarbonizing, to hire consultant for worker exits

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Power utility PPC has decided to soon hire a consultant to help shape a voluntary exit plan for employees working in the corporation’s lignite sector, set to gradually wind down as a result of the country’s decarbonization policy.

The consultant’s efforts will focus on the structure of the voluntary exit plan, its incentives, timing and extent within PPC’s workforce, not including employees eligible for retirement and workers to be transferred to other company units.

PPC plans to appoint a consultant in the immediate future with the objective of announcing the full details of its voluntary exit plan towards the end of this year.

PPC’s voluntary exit plan is intended to stretch over a number of years as a gradual process aligned with the decarbonization effort.

Severance payments, according to a company announcement made several months ago, currently total 22,000 euros per employee.

PPC’s objective is to reduce its workforce to 11,500 by 2024 from 15,300 at the end of 2019, according the company’s new business plan.

The Amynteo lignite-fired power station in Greece’s north is at the top of PPC’s withdrawal list, but it now remains unclear when this exit can take place.

Amynteo was originally scheduled to be withdrawn by April 30, tomorrow, but this exit may be postponed until next year. The completion, by local authorities, of regional projects securing telethermal services is a key factor. PPC is currently awaiting an update on these projects.

 

 

DESFA 10-year plan approved, virtual pipelines not included

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Gas grid operator DESFA’s ten-year development plan has been approved by RAE, the Regulatory Authority for Energy, following a lengthy procedure, including consultation, that lasted several months.

A virtual pipeline proposal envisioning LNG supply to Crete, the north Aegean islands and the Dodecanese via tankers from the operator’s Revythoussa terminal just off Athens was left out of the approved plan. This is the ten-year plan’s only notable change compared to the draft forwarded for consultation.

LNG virtual pipelines serve as a substitute for conventional gas pipelines to enable the transport of LNG to points of use by sea, road or a combination of these.

The virtual pipeline proposal was removed from the DESFA ten-year plan following concerns expressed by consultation participants over higher surcharge costs for consumers that could have been imposed as part of the project’s cost recovery procedure.

The gas grid operator’s ten-year plan includes, for the first time, a natural gas outlet along the TAP route for the west Macedonia region in Greece’s north.

This TAP outlet, a project budgeted at 3 million euros and expected to be launched late in 2022, is intended to supply natural gas to the area’s provincial cities of Kozani, Ptolemaida, Florina and Amynteo for use at telethermal facilities as well as other energy needs in the post-lignite era.

The area’s telethermal system currently relies on energy produced by power utility PPC’s lignite-fired power stations, soon set for withdrawal as part of the country’s decarbonization effort.

 

Grid entry adjustment for PPC telethermal-linked lignite units

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The energy ministry is set to satisfy a power utility PPC request prioritizing the grid entry of its lignite-based production for telethermal support without factoring in this input to calculations determining the system marginal price, or wholesale price.

This requested procedure already applies for PPC’s compulsory hydropower input and RES units.

Under the current system, state-controlled PPC is incurring losses when entering into the grid lignite-fired units for telethermal needs in the west Macedonia and Megalopoli regions. More specifically, the utility is being forced to not operate its gas-fueled power stations, despite their lower operating costs, prompted by the large reduction in gas prices.

PPC’s LNG purchases, as a result, are not being utilized.

The ministry is now preparing a legislative act for the adjustment. It could apply for a limited amount of time to cover remaining telethermal needs in the post-winter season.

Independent producers have reacted against the plan. Some producers appear determined to take the issue to the EU competition authority, noting priority rule exemptions can only be made for RES, Combined Cooling, Heat and Power (CCHP) and hydropower units.

 

Lignite end’s socioeconomic hurdles stressed in EC report

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Greece will face socioeconomic challenges as a result of the government’s decision to gradually shut down the country’s lignite units in the northern region of west Macedonia and Megolopoli, in the Peloponnese, for a climate-neutral economy by 2050, the European Commission has noted in a report delivered as an addition to its post-bailout report on the Greek economy.

Some 27,000 jobs could be lost in both areas, according to the report, delivered as an additional chapter intended to serve as basis for talks between Brussels and Athens on Greece’s transition towards a lignite-free era.

The two sides are already negotiating funding details from the Just Transition Fund, expected to financially support a new growth plan for west Macedonia and Megolopoli between 2021 and 2027.

Also, the Greek government has assembled an interministerial committee tasked with shaping a post-lignite plan for the west Macedonia and Megolopoli areas, both lignite-dependent local economies. The committee will deliver a plan by June, according to the energy ministry.

In its latest report, Brussels highlights the significance of lignite for the local economy and community of west Macedonia, whose population numbers 280,000, especially Kozani, representing more than half this figure with a population of 150,000.

“The [country’s] biggest mines and most lignite-fired power stations are located in this area. Lignite-based electricity generation is its most significant economic sector, representing over one-third of the area’s GDP,” the report notes.

An estimated 5,500 jobs at the lignite mines and power stations are directly threatened, while a further 20,000 jobs are indirectly threatened, the report’s authors added.

The west Macedonia region is already burdened by one of the highest unemployment rates (31% according to 2016 data) of all the EU’s lignite areas, the report notes. The region’s GDP per capita fell from 86 percent to 59 percent of the EU average between 2009 and 2017, it adds.

Over 100,000 residents are linked to telethermal systems for lignite power station-based domestic heating, the report also highlights. The replacement of lignite units in the area is one of the challenges that must be dealth with, it adds.

As for Megalopoli, the lignite sector is by far the most significant economic activity in this Peloponnesian region of 6,000 residents, the report notes. Some 1,600 jobs are at risk of being lost here, it adds, which takes the overall tally of jobs on the line, including in west Macedonia, to just over 27,000.

 

 

RES interest high in September, applications total 2.1 GW

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Investor interest for the development of new RES units, especially solar energy projects, as well as wind energy farms, remained high in September.

A total of 114 applications representing an overall capacity of 2,093 MW were submitted to RAE, the Regulatory Authority for Energy, during the month.

Solar energy project applications represent the bulk of this interest, numbering 82 for a capacity at 1,642 MW, compared to 406 MW for wind energy applications.

A smaller number of applications concerning small-scale hydropower projects totaling 10 MW were also submitted in September. The authority also received one application for a 2-MW biomass unit, three applications for hybrid projects on Lesvos totaling 14 MW, and one bid for a 20-MW telethermal project in Megalopoli.

Cantreva led the way with solar energy project applications totaling 413 MW. Terna Energy submitted solar project applications representing an overall capacity of approximately 372 MW.

Sizeable moves were also made by Portugal’s EDPR, submitting 185 MW in solar energy project applications and 90 MW for wind energy installations, as well as Germany’s ABO, which applied for solar energy projects totaling 107 MW.

Other noteworthy applications were forwarded by Maximus Terra (106 MW, solar), SPDGR (95 MW, solar), Iliothema (70 MW, solar) and Erimia (114 MW, wind).