Terna Energy

PPC units sale close to failure, call for improved sole valid offer

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The main power utility PPC’s bailout-required sale of units at Meliti in Greece’s north and Megalopoli in the south could end up being half successful, at best, but a full debacle is considered most likely, the disclosure of binding bids submitted yesterday, the sale’s deadline day, has indicated.

Sale authorities have requested an improved bid from just one participant, the Mytilineos group, for its offer concerning the Meliti facility, while another offer made by Seven Energy and Terna for Megalopoli has apparently been rejected as it does not meet the tender’s terms, energypress has understood following a thorough cross-examination of incoming information.

According to one of Greece’s bailout commitments, based on a European Court verdict, the sale effort requires a disinvestment representing 40 percent of PPC’s lignite capacity. Meliti I and II and Megalopoli III and IV need to be sold if this disinvestment target is to be achieved.

PPC has suggested it will strive for an imminent follow-up sale in an effort to honor the European Court disinvestment decision. If this is permitted, problems that have made the current sale unattractive to investors will need to be resolved. The current composition of the Megalopoli package, in particular, is virtually unsellable, investors agree.

PPC remains determined to achieve decent sale prices for Meliti and Megalopoli, despite the fact that both facilities have been assessed as loss-incurring by investors. In recent comments, the power utility’s chief Manolis Panagiotakis noted that PPC is “selling not selling out.”

New wind turbine connections to grid rise by 7.2% in 2018

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A total of 103 new wind turbine facilities with a combined capacity of 191.6 MW were connected to the country’s grid in 2018, a 7.2 percent year-on-year increase, the ELETAEN figures showed, according to latest data released by ELETAEN, the Greek Wind Energy Association.

EREN, the renewable energy group founded and headed by Greek-French entrepreneur Paris Mouratoglou, has emerged as a new entry in Greece’s top-five list of RES investors with investments offering a total capacity of 210.9 MW, a 7.5 percent market share.

EREN, which recently established a strategic agreement with Total, is now ranked fifth, replacing Enel Green Power, which has dropped to sixth place.

The top-five list’s four other enterprises held their places. Terna Energy leads with 536.1 MW, a 19 percent share; El. Tech Anemos is ranked second with 285.6 MW (10.1%), Iberdrola Rokas is third with 250.7 MW (8.9%); and EDF EN Hellas is placed fourth with 238.2 MW (8.4%)., according to the ELETAEN data.

CF Ventus, a venture of the Fortress Fund, has emerged as Greece’s new RES market arrival following its acquisition of wind energy parks from the Libra group. CF Ventus is continuing to invest in the sector.

Facilities at old wind energy parks with a total capacity of 15.43 MW operated by PPC Renewables, primarily in Crete and the North Aegean, were uninstalled in 2018.  Work on their replacements has already begun.

Vestas continued to dominate Greece’s wind turbine supply market, providing an impressive 78.2 percent of all turbines installed in 2018.

As for the spatial distribution of wind capacity in Greece, the central mainland continues to be ranked first with 907 MW (32%) and is followed by the Peloponnese with 550 MW (19%) and eastern Macedonia-Thrace with 375 MW (13%).

 

PPC, Terna in pumped-storage hydroelectricity project talks

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The main power utility PPC is engaged in talks with Terna Energy for a possible partnership concerning the latter’s plan to develop pumped-storage hydroelectricity facilities in Amfilohia, western Greece, and the Cretan region Amari, PPC’s chief executive Manolis Panagiotakis disclosed at the Thessaloniki International Trade Fair while addressing the utility’s decision to make a decisive turn towards green energy.

The energy sector’s future lies in renewable energy incorporating storage systems, Panagiotakis supported.

“Crete and other areas have potential. We have begun talks with Terna and other firms for the development of such projects by also utilizing existing lakes, such as the artificial lake at the Amari area’s rivers, with wind turbines,” the PPC boss explained.

Pumped-storage hydroelectricity allows energy from intermittent sources, such as solar, wind and other renewables, or excess electricity from continuous base-load sources, including coal, to be saved for periods of higher demand.

Terna Energy plans to develop a 680-MW facility in Amfilohia and a 93-MW plant at Amari, Crete.

Ellaktor, Terna left in PPC Renewables geothermal tender

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Two investment schemes, Helector SA, a member of the Ellaktor group, as well as a team comprised of Terna Energy and sister company Terna Aioliki Xerovouniou SA, have submitted binding second-round bids to an international tender staged by PPC Renewables for a strategic partner in the installation of power stations to utilize four geothermal fields.

The tender’s deadline for second-round offers expired on June 1. A total of six teams had expressed first-round interest.

Besides Helector and the Terna Energy-Terna Aioliki Xerovouniou team, Enel Green Power Hellas, France’s Storengy, KS Orka from Singapore, as well as Zorlu-Turboden, a Turkish-Italian joint venture, also participated in the first round.

PPC Renewables, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the main power utility PPC, is aiming for swift progress in its quest for a strategic partner and the establishment of a finalized partnership agreement as soon as possible.

PPC Renewables plans to establish a joint venture with its prospective strategic partner to develop geothermal power stations of at least 8 MW on Lesbos and 5 MW at each of the other locations.

PPC Renewables intends to soon launch exploratory drilling procedures at its own expense. These drilling endeavors are planned to run concurrently with the ongoing selection process for a strategic partner.

Officials at PPC Renewables believe the reluctance, if not outright opposition, of residents on some of the islands to the geothermal plan will subside once islanders are fully informed of technological advancements in the sector, preventing environmental impact. Locals reacted back in the 1980s against an initiative for the development of a geothermal field on Milos.

 

 

PPC announces lignite units tender a day ahead of schedule

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The main power utility PPC has just announced an international tender offering a bailout-required sale package of lignite units one day ahead of tomorrow’s scheduled date.

Prospective investors will have until June 21 to submit official expressions of interest and June 11 to forward any queries concerning the overall sale procedure.

Power stations and mines representing 40 percent of PPC’s overall lignite capacity have been included in the sale package.

The preferred bidder is scheduled to be officially announced on October 17. Binding offers will need to be submitted by September 1. Then, PPC’s board is scheduled to meet on September 20 to endorse the sale and purchase agreement as well as a financial appraisal procedure.

On July 3, the PPC board plans to endorse prospective investors who express interest as well as the procedure leading to the submission of binding offers.

It remains to be seen who the participants will be and how much they will be willing to offer for PPC’s lignite units.

At present, three investment teams are expected to submit official expressions of interest. The Copelouzos group, joined by Chinese energy company Shenhua, is one of the three, Terna Energy is another, while the metals industry Viohalco, one of the country’s biggest energy consumers, is the other player seen as a certainty.

The aforementioned players could also establish partnerships between them of with other investors still out of the picture.

Whether these prospective investors will progress beyond the preliminary stage to submit binding bids is another story. This will largely depend on the variable costs of units, currently not known; lignite’s level of participation in the country’s energy mix; as well as other still-unspecified matters, such as the CAT eligibility of lignite units.

 

 

Licensing delays, bureaucracy ruining RES investment plans

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Renewable energy sector players may have been able to absorb the cost of bureaucratic delays in the past, but market changes, shaped by auctions, no longer allow for such latency, meaning investments plans could well be cancelled amid the new conditions if license applications continue being delayed, sector officials have stressed at an investment conference staged by SEV, the Hellenic Association of Industrialists.

Highlighting the bureaucratic obstacles in the sector, major energy groups such as Mytilineos and Terna Energy are currently developing or completing wind energy project investments licensed about 15 years ago as a result of various delays prompted by authorities.

“Two months have gone by since we submitted an application for a production license to RAE [Regulatory Authority for Energy] and we have yet to receive a response. I would have expected a quicker reaction for a 350 million-euro investment,” remarked Dinos Benroubi, the energy division head at the Mytilineos corporate group.

Greek licensing procedures for wind energy projects appear to be even more complicated than those concerning thermal facilities, or natural gas fueled power stations, it was noted at the SEV conference.

Participants explained that, amid the current conditions, energy groups aiming to concurrently strive for multiple licenses concerning many RES projects would need to maintain oversized teams just for RES sector matters.

Employees at forestry and archaeological services are capable of severely holding up RES investment plans, despite the availability of funds, conference participants noted.

Though the Greek State assumed the responsibility of developing offshore wind energy farms nearly a decade ago, not a single such project has been developed, despite the wider investor interest, participants reminded.

All too often, renewable energy investment plans are blocked by cases filed at the Council of State, Greece’s Supreme Administrative Court, even by non residents, it was also pointed out.

 

Hydra expected to regain control of RES-lucrative Agios Georgios islet

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A long-running dispute between the municipalities of the island Hydra and Lavrio, southeast of Athens, for the administrative jurisdiction of Agios Georgios, or San Giorgio, an uninhabited 4.3 km2 islet south of Sounio equipped with 23 wind energy turbines totaling 70 MW and installed and operated by Terna Energy, appears set to end in favor of Hydra.

Greek Interior Minister Panos Skourletis appears to have accepted a State Legal Council opinion recommending administrative jurisdiction of the islet for the municipality of Hydra, according to sources.

The Interior Ministry’s final decision on the islet’s administrative jurisdiction will determine which of the two municipalities will be entitled to receive RES-related payments worth half a million euros annually.

Historically, the islet was under Hydra’s control from 1834, when the newly founded modern Greek state’s admnistrative map was established. Control of Agios Georgios was transferred to the Lavrio municipality in 2011 by ELSTAT, the Hellenic Statistical Authority, following a census.

Unfinished, long-delayed Epirus hydropower project moving again

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A decisive step appears to have been taken in a long-running and unfinished effort to develop a hydropower facility at Metsovitikos River in the Epirus area of northwestern Greece, a recent decision by main power utility PPC to endorse a tender awarding the project’s development to the Terna Energy Group has indicated.

The Metsovitikos River hydropower facility is planned to possess a 2X14.5 MW capacity. Terna Energy Group was named the winning bidder with an offer of approximately 14 million euros.

Work on an initial stage of this hydropower project, carried out by Mihaniki AE, began in the mid-90s and was completed in 2000.

Then, a second stage of the project was taken on by a three-member consortium comprised of Vioter, Edrasi Psallidas and Proodeftiki. This team managed to complete just 31 percent of stage two, until January, 2007. The project has since remained stagnant.

In December, 2014, PPC decided to nullify an intermediate tender, citing bank guarantee issues as the motive behind the decision.

PPC hopes the project will be completed within 28 months of the new agreement’s signing, as stated in the project’s terms.

Terna Energy signs PPP deal for Epirus solid waste treatment plant

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The Terna Energy group has signed an agreement for a municipal solid waste treatment plant in Greece’s northwest Epirus region, based on a Public & Private Partnerships (PPP) scheme involving “Aeiforiki of Epirus”, a Terna Energy subsidiary, and the Epirus prefectural authority, the company announced.

The partnership agreement provides for the study, licensing, financing, construction, insurance, operation and maintenance of the waste management project for the next 25 years. The total duration of the agreement is 26.5 years and consists of an 18-month construction period as well as of a 25-year operation period. The investment is estimated to reach the amount of 52.6 million euros.

The fundamental axis of the investment plan concerns the management of conventional waste through the use of modern technologies aiming at absolute environmental protection in line with a financially viable strategy that will ensure long-term implementation and operation of the project.

Once launched, the project will be equipped to process 105,000 tons of waste annually through the Sewage Treatment Plan (STP), recycle at least 17,000 tons of appropriate materials and produce green energy with a capacity to satisfy the needs of 3,000 households, thereby offering CO2 emission savings measuring of 12,000 tons.

The project is expected to create 200 new jobs during the construction stage, 90 working positions during the 25-year operation period, as well as a large number of parallel jobs, including in the areas of transportation, trade and recycling management.

The operation of the new waste material processing unit promises to ensure the broader region’s compliance with existing EU regulations, strengthen environmental protection and lead to significant improvements in the quality of life and hygiene conditions for all citizens.

The project’s implementation will also offer both direct and indirect benefits in the fields of tourism, education and the new quality-based agricultural sector, representing a strategic objective for the entire country.

 

 

Green bonds, just arrived here, enjoying strong global growth

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The overwhelming investor turnout for a climate bond issued by Terna Energy, Greece’s first environmental bond, has turned the domestic market’s attention to this financing tool, introduced to Greece for the first time with this Terna issue but already experiencing rapid growth on an international scale.

Green bonds were introduced as financial tools to support RES projects developed by governments and private-sector enterprises.

Indicative of the emphasis on climate bonds being placed elsewhere, China’s seven major regulatory authorities recently announced a series of common guidelines for the establishment of a “green” financial system, the objective being to transform the country’s economy into an eco-friendly economy.

Climate bonds emerged in 2007 and have since experienced rapid growth. Green bond issues are expected to reach a total of approximately 150 billion dollars this year, up from 81 billion dollars last year and 3 billion dollars in 2012.

The USA stands is the biggest issuer of climate bonds ($29.2bn, based on data until 2016), followed by India ($23.6bn), China ($19.5bn), France ($19.4bn), Germany ($12.5bn), Sweden ($6.1bn), Mexico ($2.6bn), Canada ($2.4bn), Japan ($1.8bn) and Australia ($1.67bn).

Euroasia Interconnector, Crete link association discussed

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Terna Energy and the Copelouzos group are engaged in talks with Euroasia Interconector and IPTO, Greece’s power grid operator, in an effort to co-develop Crete’s interconnection with the Greek mainland.

An effort is being made to associate the Cretan interconnection with the grander Euroasia Interconnector, an ambitious project to link the Greek, Cypriot and Israeli grids. The Euroasia Interconnector has already been classified as a Project of Common Interest (PCI), enabling EU funding.

In March, Terna Energy and the Copelouzos group decided to merge two major wind farm projects planned for Crete so as to facilitate financing procedures stemming from the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI), commonly refered to as the “Juncker package”.

The two companies plan to co-develop wind farm projects with a total capacity of 950 MW in all four Cretan prefectures. Terna Energy and the Copelouzos group have also joined forces for the island’s interconnection with the mainland, a 320-kilometer submarine crossing whose development is planned to commence in 2019. This project’s budget is worth 2.4 billion euros.

Terna Energy company officials told a general shareholders’ meeting yesterday that the project’s licensing procedure is not easy as local authorities have raised objections, adding that the company is working on issues together with regional Cretan authorities.

On a visit to Israel earlier this month, Greece’s Digital Policy, Media and Telecommunications Minister Nikos Pappas proposed that the Euroasia Interconnector, to cover 1,519 kilometers, include a fiber optics connection between Israel and Greece.

An agreement between Greece’s main power utility PPC and China’s SGCC (State Grid Corporation of China) for the latter’s acquisition of a 24 percent stake in the power grid operator IPTO, a PPC subsidiary, is expected to provide further financial support for the Euroasia Interconnector. The prospect was discussed by Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras during his recent visit to China.

A consortium comprised of PPC and Quantum Energy, Israel’s Electric Corporation, is participating in the Euroasia Interconnector project, planned to have a 2,000-MW capacity and be installed at depths of as much as 2,000 meters. Its budget is estimated at 1.5 billion euros.

An EU-supported detailed preliminary study concerning the interconnection’s first stage, offering a 1,000-MW capacity, is planned to begin this June. The Connecting Europe Facility (CEF), a key EU funding instrument supporting trans-European networks and infrastructures in the sectors of transport, telecommunications and energy, will fund half the first stage’s cost, whose total is worth 29 million euros.

Terna Energy signs deal with CIP for RES investment in US

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TERNA ENERGY, a member of the GEK TERNA Group, has signed a cooperation agreement with Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP) regarding a TERNA ENERGY investment plan for the US renewable energy (RES) market, the company announced in a statement released today.

The first phase of the agreement’s implementation concerns a 155.4 MW Fluvanna I wind farm currently being constructed by TERNA ENERGY in Scurry County, Texas. CIP will contribute $61 million to cover part of the development cost. The project’s total investment cost exceeds $250m. Goldman Sachs will also participate, contributing funds of up to $150 million during operation, while financing during construction will be covered by a group of banks, including HSBC, NordLB, Morgan Stanley and Rabobank.

Fluvanna I is being equipped with GAMESA wind turbines and is expected to commence commercial operations in the fourth quarter of 2017.

TERNA ENERGY already operates a wind park with a capacity of 138 MW in Elmore County, Idaho, and is pursuing additional investments in the US renewables market. These include construction of another wind park (Fluvanna II, 130 MW). CIP has also expressed an interest to invest in its construction.

The total installed capacity of the TERNA ENERGY corporate group amounts to 738 MW. The group maintains installations of 468 MW in Greece, 138 MW in the US, 102 MW in Poland and 30 MW in Bulgaria.

The corporate group also maintains RES installations currently under construction or ready for construction with a capacity of 242 MW in Greece and abroad.

Overall, the company operates, is constructing or has full licensing of 980 MW of RES installations in Europe and America. The company is targeting to reach nearly 1,000 MW of RES projects over the next few years in countries where it is active.

Terna wind energy park off Sounio preparing for launch

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Terna Energy has completed construction of a new 73.2 MW-capacity wind energy park on an islet close to Sounio, south-southeast of Athens, and plans to soon commercially launch the facility.

It was developed on the islet Agios Georgios, measuring 430 hectares and located about 12 miles from Sounio. Terna anticipates the wind farm will begin generating earning for company within the current year.

The facility has been developed to utilize the Aegean Sea’s enormous wind energy potential and supply electricity to a station in the wider Athens area via a submarine cable.

The news was announced yesterday by GEK Terna Group’s CEO Giorgos Peristeris, who, while offering a rundown of the group’s corporate activities in 2016, also informed that the company has begun construction work on Ptolemaida 5, a new power station in Greece’s north. This project, commissioned by PPC, the main power utility, is worth 1.4 billion euros.

Also this year, GEK Terna signed a 230 million-euro contract with the TAP consortium for the construction of metering stations concerning the pipeline to carry Azeri natural gas across Greece to central Europe via Albania and Italy.

GEK Terna has also completed construction of the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Centre in Athens, a project of pioneering design and special construction demands, according to Peristeris.

GEK Terna has continued to pursue its investment plan in the energy sector with new RES projects. Its projects in operation have a total capacity of 664 MW, while projects with a further capacity of 124 MW are at the construction stage. A 150-MW wind energy park developed in the US, in Texas, was recently granted a license to operate.

The CEO said losses incurred by the corporate group’s thermal power stations could be attributed to the pending new CAT mechanism.

 

Terna Energy posts 9.8% sales increase in first quarter

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Consolidated sales at Terna Energy for the first quarter of 2016 amounted to 50.4 million euros compared to 45.9 million euros during the equivalent period last year, a 9.8 percent increase, the company has announced.

Income from the electricity production sector amounted to 39 million euros compared to 37.5 million euro in the same period of 2015, a four percent increase.

Sales of the electricity energy trading division amounted to 7.3 million euros, while sales of the company’s construction division for third parties amounted to 3.8 million euros, up from 2.3 million euro in the first quarter of 2015, the company announced.

Total EBITDA amounted to 30.5 million euros compared to 29.2 million euros in the first quarter of 2015, a 4.4 percent rise. Total ΕΒΙΤ amounted to 20.8 million euros compared to 19.7 million euros, a 5.5 percent increase. Earnings before taxes reached 10 million euros from 15.3 million euros in the first quarter of 2015, a 34.6 percent rise. Net earnings after minority interest amounted to 7 million euros compared to 12.2 million euros in the first quarter last year, a 42.6 percent drop, due to the negative effect from foreign exchange differences which was positive by 3.4 million euros in the first quarter of 2015 and negative by 0.9 million euros in the first quarter of 2016.

The Group’s net debt position (bank debt minus cash & cash equivalents) in the first quarter of 2016 amounted to 337 million euro compared to 319 million euro at the end of 2015.

The Group’s total installed capacity is 664 MW. It possesses total installations of 394 MW in Greece, 138 MW in the USA, 102 MW in Poland and 30 MW in Bulgaria.

In addition, the Group has RES installations currently under construction or ready for construction with a capacity of 273 MW, in Greece and abroad.

Overall, the company operates, is constructing or has full licensing of 937 MW of RES installations in Europe and America. The company is aiming to reach almost 1,000 MW of RES projects over the next few years in all countries where it is active.

 

Terna Energy posts significant turnover, profit increases

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Terna Energy posted a consolidated sales figure of 198.6 million euros for 2015 compared to 158.2 million euros in 2014, a 25.5 percent increase, the company announced in a statetement yesterday.

Income from the electricity production sector amounted to 140.3 million euros compared to 110.3 million euros in 2014, up by 27.1 percent.

Sales of the company’s division of electric energy trading amounted to 26.8 million euros. Sales of the construction division for third parties amounted to 20.2 million euros versus 35.5 million euros in 2014. In the concessions division (e-ticketing), revenues accounted for 11.3 million euros.

EBITDA amounted to 99.3 million euros compared to 74 million euros in the previous year, a 34.1 percent increase, as a result of increased installed capacity and the higher wind performance prevailing in Europe during 2015 compared to the previous year. The ΕΒΙΤ figure reached 60.3 million euros compared to 41.8 million euros, a 44.2percent increase. Earnings before tax amounted to 30.3 million euros compared to 12.1 million euros in 2014, up by 149.6 percent. Net earnings after minority interest amounted to 17.4 million euros compared to 5.8 million euros, a 198.4 percent increase.

Cash flow from operating activities before changes in working capital amounted to 103.8 million euros versus 74.7 million euros in the previous year. The group’s net debt position (bank debt minus cash & cash equivalents) at the end of the year 2015 amounted to 319.3 million euros compared to 259 million euros at the end of the previous quarter. The corporate group’s investments during the year 2015 settled at 79.7 million euros.

The management of the group will propose to the general shareholders’ meeting the distribution of dividend amounting to 0.09 euro per share.

The corporate group’s total installed capacity amounts to 664 MW. The group has installations of 394 MW in Greece, 138 MW in the USA, 102 MW in Poland and 30 MW in Bulgaria. At the same time, the Group has RES installations currently under construction or ready for construction with a capacity of 274 MW, in Greece and abroad.

Overall, the company operates, is constructing or has full licensing of 938 MW of RES installations in Europe and America. The company aims to reach nearly 1,000 MW of RES projects over the next few years in all countries where it operates

Terma Energy takes on 380-MW wind-energy facility in Texas

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Terna Energy, a subsidiary of the GEK Terna group, has acquired a wind-energy license for a capacity of 380 MW in the US area of Fluvanna, Texas.

As part of the deal, the listed company has taken on a partially developed wind-energy facility from Tri Global Energy LLC, a Dallas-based company active in the renewable energy sector (RES) in Texas and New Mexico.

According to information released, Tri Global Energy will collaborate with Terna Energy during the construction stage, until the facility is launched commercially.

A first part of the wind-energy park is scheduled to begin operating in 2017. The unit will be developed on an expanse measuring 3,200 hectares leased by private landowners.

Terma Energy’s total installed capacity amounts to 648 MW. The company operates facilities with capacities of 394 MW in Greece, 138 MW in the USA, 86 MW in Poland, and 30 MW in Bulgaria. The company also possesses a further 237 MW of RES faclities under construction, both in Greece and abroad.

Overall, Terma Energy holds RES licenses for a total of 885 MW in Europe and the USA. The company’s objective is to reach a 1,000 MW-capacity within the next few years.