Agreement reached for PPC’s CHP plant in northern Greece

Power utility PPC’s delayed combined heat and power (CHP) plant in the west Macedonia region, northern Greece, to produce electricity and also cover the region’s thermal energy needs, has been put on track for development following talks and an agreement between leading energy ministry and PPC officials.

Remuneration terms for the prospective CHP facility’s output were agreed to at the meeting, securing its sustainability. As a result, PPC is soon expected to stage a tender offering a contract for the facility’s construction, planned to be completed over an 18-month period.

The west Macedonian CHP, to be installed at Kardia, will have an electrical capacity of 105.34 MW and a thermal capacity of 66.47 MW. It will be fueled by natural gas, while its engines will be hydrogen-ready for a hydrogen gas (H2) proportion of over 10 percent in the natural gas mix, without any compromise on engine efficiency and power output.

DESFA gas pipeline projects in north progressing as planned

Major infrastructure projects being developed by gas grid operator DESFA as part of links with North Macedonia are progressing as scheduled in the operator’s ten-year development plan covering 2023 to 2032, energypress sources have informed.

A gas pipeline running from Nea Mesimvria in the country’s north to Gevgelija in North Macedonia’s southeast, as well as a metering station concerning the grid interconnection linking the Greek system with that of the neighboring country, North Macedonia, are progressing as planned and expected to be launched in 2025, the sources noted.

Furthermore, a high-pressure gas pipeline covering Greece’s west Macedonia region is expected to be operational within 2024, they added.

These projects, being developed as part of the Greek State’s decarbonization plan, comprise gas pipelines covering a total distance of 157 kilometers.

DESFA gas pipeline for west Macedonia approved by ministry

Gas grid operator DESFA has received a five-year installation approval to construct a gas pipeline network in northern Greece’s west Macedonia region, a project to run a total of 158.34 kilometers, from the Imathia, Pella and Florina regions to the Kozani region, north of Ptolemaida.

Just over one-third, or 35 percent, of the gas pipeline project has already been constructed. Its completion is slated for autumn next year.

The section of the pipeline now under construction will be equipped to accommodate and transport a mixture of natural gas and hydrogen, while a planned second parallel pipeline will be able to transport hydrogen exclusively.

The gas pipeline network’s main branch, a 93.64-kilometer section with a 30-inch diameter, will run from Trikala (Imathia) to Komnina.

It will branch off towards Aspro (3.37 km), Naousa-Veria (21.27 km), Perdika (9.12 km), and Kardia (30.95 km).

Post-lignite area support programs worth over €820m

Greek post-lignite authority EYDAM, the Just Transition Special Authority, is preparing twelve new programs budgeted at a total of more than 820 million euros for 2023 and 2024 to support businesses and other initiatives in northern Greece’s west Macedonia region and Arkadia in the Peloponnese, both lignite-dependent local economies.

The plan includes a 380 million-euro budget as support for investment plans in just-transition areas; 29.2 million euros for workforce empowerment interventions; as well as an 8.23 million-euro budget support program for unemployed young adults, vocational counselling and social empowerment.

Other aspects of the overall plan include a 30 million-euro budget for support of existing enterprises active in just-transition areas, a 20 million-euro budget for new enterprises either already active or preparing for launch in just-transition areas, as well as a 50 million-euro budget for the transformation and reuse of former lignite areas.

In addition, a 22 million-euro sum has been marked out for a special program aimed at the economic and productive transformation of entrepreneurial activity in the wider Megalopoli area’s bioeconomy.

West Macedonia region maintaining role as energy hub in Greece

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.

DESFA development of west Macedonia pipeline set to start

Gas grid operator DESFA is set to begin its development of a gas pipeline in northern Greece’s west Macedonia region next month, an official ceremony for the start of work slated for end of February or early March, energypress sources have informed.

According to the operator’s ten-year development plan covering 2022 to 2031, the gas pipeline, a project budgeted at 147 million euros, is scheduled to be completed in autumn, 2026.

The gas pipeline project’s financing will be covered by DESFA capital as well as a syndicated 505 million-euro bond loan agreement reached by the operator with the country’s four main banks for its ten-year development plan from 2021 to 2030.

The pipeline will cover a total distance of 147 kilometers, running from Trikala in the Imathia region to Ptolemaida. It will branch off at four points for distribution to the region’s urban centers, namely Edessa, Skydra, Naoussa, Veria, Florina Amynteo, Ptolemaida and Kozani, and will be equipped for a prospective extension to the Kastoria area.

This pipeline, it is worth noting, will be totally compatible to carry and transport hydrogen, making it Greece’s first and one of Europe’s few pipelines fully supporting transportation of renewable gases.

It will make up part of the European Hydrogen Backbone (EHB), a plan shaped by European operators and companies for the development of a European pipeline network hosting hydrogen. Their objective is to have developed a network covering a total distance of 40,000 kilometers by 2040.

 

West Macedonia gas pipeline development starting February

Preparations leading to the construction of a new gas pipeline in northern Greece’s west Macedonia region, including licensing for land to host the project, are on the final stretch, and should enable the project’s development to commence by February, 2023.

According to gas grid operator DESFA’s ten-year development plan, the gas pipeline, which will connect the west Macedonia region with the country’s gas network, also represents part of the decarbonization strategy for the lignite-dependent region, as well as its fair transition into the post-lignite era.

The new pipeline is scheduled to begin operating in August, 2023 before being integrated into the grid a month later.

The project, budgeted at 147 million euros, is planned to be co-financed by DESFA capital as well as a portion of a 505-million bond loan agreement reached by the operator with the country’s four main banks, National Bank, Eurobank, Alpha Bank and Piraeus Bank, to finance its ten-year development program.

The pipeline is planned to cover a total distance of 156 kilometers, running from a point roughly two kilometers east of Trikala to an area north of Ptolemaida, close to Komnina in the Kozani region.

 

 

Northern pipeline’s environmental permit paves way for development

The energy ministry has approved environmental terms for gas grid operator DESFA’s natural gas pipeline project covering northern Greece’s west Macedonia region, a decision that paves the way for work to commence in autumn.

The project, budgeted at 110 million euros, promises to extend the national gas grid’s coverage, contribute to the country’s decarbonization plan and support the transition of the west Macedonian region, until now a lignite-dependent local economy.

The pipeline is planned to run from a location two kilometers east of Trikala to a point north of the provincial town Ptolemaida in the Kozani region, a 93.56-km distance.

The project, already fully certified to transport hydrogen, will offer a capacity of 388,000 Nm3/h.

The pipeline’s completion is scheduled for the first half of 2023.

 

 

 

DESFA reaches FID for west Macedonia region gas pipeline

Gas grid operator DESFA has reached a final investment decision for the development of a natural gas pipeline covering the country’s northern region of west Macedonia, paving the way for the project’s development in 2022 and  completion by the end of 2023.

The bulk of the project is expected to be ready sooner, by January, 2023, which will enable swifter natural gas distribution to many areas.

DESFA chief executive Maria Rita Galli, commenting on the gas pipeline project during a recent session of parliament’s standing committee on production and trade, informed that solutions are being sought for natural gas supply to areas even sooner, by October, 2022.

The gas pipeline project, measuring 157 km, will connect the west Macedonian region with the country’s natural gas grid. Its cost is budgeted at 147 million euros. Financing has already been assured from the grid operator’s own capital as well as a 505 million-euro loan agreement reached with the country’s four main banks, National Bank of Greece, Eurobank, Alpha Bank, and Piraeus Bank.

Galli, the chief executive, noted that an effort will be made to have the project inducted into the new National Strategic Reference Framework in order to minimize network usage costs.

Technical chamber wants lignite maintenance in energy mix

TEE, the Technical Chamber of Greece, favors the continued use of the country’s modern lignite-fired power stations for an energy-mix representation of between 10 and 12 percent over the next few years, as a means of securing electricity sufficiency and strategic reserves.

The chamber’s administration has officially approved an internal vote adopting this position. Its scientific committee, comprised of metallurgical engineers, expressed strong reservations over a government decision to prematurely terminate lignite-fired electricity production as part of the country’s decarbonization plan.

Extensive public debate and a detailed study, essential for a matter of such strategic importance for Greece, should have preceded the premature lignite withdrawal decision, the TEE scientific committee pointed out.

An approved master plan for the lignite withdrawals was rejected by regional authorities in Greece’s two lignite-dependent regions, western Macedonia, in the north, and Peloponnese’s Megalopoli, as proposals forwarded by local authorities and citizens were not considered or discussed, the committee noted.

A total of 19 months have elapsed and over 2,500 jobs lost since the government’s decision to prematurely withdraw lignite-fired units in the two areas, but the administration’s master plan for a fair transition, intended to restructure these lignite-dependent local economies, continues to lack clarity, the committee stressed.

EU funds made available for the restructuring of the two lignite-dependent economies, just over 700 million euros and well under a five billion-euro amount initially announced, are very limited for a proper and fair transition, the chamber added.

 

Lignite-fired power stations still operating despite elevated cost

Despite their increased operational cost, power utility PPC’s lignite-fired power stations remain essential, on an occasional basis, to ensure electricity supply security by countering various concerns that may arise, including voltage instability at the grid’s northern section.

Power grid operator IPTO needed to bring into the system one or two lignite-fired power stations throughout most of May, despite the high cost entailed, which would normally keep these units sidelined.

No lignite-fired power stations needed to be used for grid sufficiency on May 13 and 16, as is also the case for today.

The northern section of the country’s grid can be susceptible to voltage instability as a result of the international grid interconnections in the wider area, facilitating exports.

Until recently, northern Greece’s west Macedonia region was the country’s energy epicenter, courtesy of PPC’s extensive lignite portfolio in the area.

Regular use of higher-cost lignite-fired generation has increased price levels in the day-ahead and balancing markets, which, by extension, is increasing costs for suppliers.

PPC’s increased CO2 emissions, when the utility’s lignite-fired power stations are brought into operation, is also directly impacting industrial consumers, who are burdened by the resulting additional cost, passed on by the utility.

CO2 costs have risen sharply of late as a result of rallying carbon emission right costs.

PPC to issue post-lignite bonds with yields of 6-7% to residents

Power utility PPC is preparing to offer solar farm-project bonds with yields of 6 to 7 percent to residents of the lignite-dependent west Macedonia and Megalopoli regions, exclusively, where major-scale solar farms are planned as part of the utility’s decarbonization and economic transformation of the two areas.

The company aims to offer two sets of bonds representing 5 percent of its solar farm investments in these areas.

The issues will effectively offer residents a share of the economic growth potential of the west Macedonia and Megalopoli regions.

The lignite-related activity of the two regions has contributed significantly to the country’s GDP over the past six decades.

PPC plans to issue the two sets of bonds as soon as it has received finalized licenses for these solar farm projects.

The power utility has submitted licensing applications for a total capacity of 2.9 GW in both areas.

Assuming PPC is granted a 2-GW license for its west Macedonia project and construction costs average 700,000 euros per MW, the investment cost, for this project, would total 1.4 billion euros, meaning that a 5 percent share for residents would result in bonds worth a sum of 70 million euros.

A similar procedure would be implemented for PPC’s Megalopoli solar farm project, planned to offer a 500-MW capacity.

PPC wants to break up both issues into bonds worth 1,000 euros each so that they can be distributed to as many residents as possible.

 

‘Additional €3bn’ for lignite area redevelopment, SPV in making

The transformation effort for Greece’s two lignite-dependent economies, west Macedonia, in the country’s north, and Megalopoli, in the Peloponnese, stands to receive three billion euros in additional support through two sources, Invest EU, established to fund decarbonization initiatives, and the European Investment Bank, Constantinos Mousouroulis, head of the government’s coordinating committee for the transition, announced at yesterday’s Delphi Economic Forum.

The three billion-euro amount, Mousouroulis noted, will add to two billion euros already made available for the effort through the EU’s Just Transition Fund and Recovery and Resilience Facility.

The official acknowledged that delays, especially financial, have held back the transition plan for the two regions, attributing the slow progress to the pandemic and, subsequently, the European Commission’s ability to operate.

Mousouroulis, at the forum, strongly defended recent efforts for the transformation of the west Macedonian and Megalopoli local economies, noting that complacency was prevalent for years.

“Not only was there no Plan B, but not even a Plan A for forthcoming changes concerning goals to combat climate change,” the official noted.

A total of 24,700 hectares of unutilized property to result from the closure of power utility PPC’s lignite-fired power stations and lignite mines in the west Macedonia and Megalopoli regions, both lignite-dependent economies for decades, is expected to be redeveloped through the program, to include PPC investments.

A special purpose vehicle is being established to attract investors, Mousouroulis said.

DESFA 2021-30 plan endorsed, west Macedonia, Patras pipelines included

Gas grid operator DESFA’s ten-year development plan for 2021 to 2030, featuring projects budgeted at over 500 million euros in total, including pipelines in the country’s west Macedonia and Patras regions, has been approved by RAE, the Regulatory Authority for Energy.

Speaking at the 2nd Power & Supply Forum, on online event staged earlier this week by energypress, DESFA’s chief executive Maria Rita Galli pointed out that this amount is double that of the previous plan and includes 54 projects through which the company will strive to contribute to strengthening Greece’s role as a regional energy hub.

The west Macedonia pipeline, a new entry to the ten-year plan, is budgeted at 110 million euros and planned to cover a 130 km distance in northern Greece.

Despite not being included in the national recovery plan for subsidy support, DESFA is prepared to develop this project with company reserves and loans.

Even if developed without subsidy support, the eventual cost of the west Macedonia pipeline for gas consumers will be spread out into limited amounts if gas demand in the region is high, as is anticipated.

Power utility PPC’s chief executive Giorgos Stassis, another energypress forum participant, informed that the company’s prospective Ptolemaida V lignite-fired power station will have converted to natural gas by 2025.

The conversion promises to boost the facility’s capacity, which will increase its consumption and add to the west Macedonia gas pipeline’s feasibility.

The gas pipeline planned for Patras, budgeted at 85 million euros, will cover a distance of approximately 140 km, from Megalopoli, in the central Peloponnese, to the western city’s industrial zone. Patras’ industrial sector is expected to ensure strong demand for natural gas.

The Patras project could, in the future, be extended to reach other cities on Greece’s west side, such as Pyrgos, western Peloponnese, and Agrinio, in the northwest.

 

Recovery plan eyes €270m for e-car part facilities, rechargers

National recovery plan features will aim to lay the foundations for an electric vehicle industry in Greece through 200 million euros in subsidies for the establishment of production facilities making batteries and parts for electric vehicles, sources have informed.

The national plan, to be fed by the European Commission’s Recovery and Resilience Plan, once approved in Brussels, is designed to create jobs where they are needed most, including in parts of west Macedonia, in Greece’s north, and Megalopoli, in the Peloponnese, whose lignite-dependent economies require restructuring as a result of the country’s decarbonization strategy.

The national recovery plan will also seek to offer a further 70 million euros in subsidies for the installation of approximately 8,500 recharging posts for electric vehicles, both regular and fast chargers, much higher in cost. Regular recharging units cost between 3,000 and 5,000 euros while fast chargers cost about 20,000 euros each.

Given the aforementioned subsidy plans, Greece’s electromobility effort could enjoy financial backing totaling more than 300 million euros, as, besides the 270 million euros being anticipated through the national recovery plan, an amount of between 30 and 40 million euros has already been secured through other financing programs.

The government plan aims for one in three vehicles circulating in Greece by 2030 to be electric.

 

Work on PPC Renewables 200-MW solar park starting April

Development of a major-scale 200-MW solar farm planned by PPC Renewables in Ptolemaida, northern Greece, a project budgeted at 110 million euros, is expected to begin in approximately one month.

A series of pre-construction procedures are expected to be completed within the next four weeks, enabling the Mytilineos Group’s METKA EGN, the project’s contractor, to begin work on this project. It represents the biggest part of a 230-MW solar energy project cluster planned by PPC Renewables.

A first 15-MW cluster has already been completed, while a second section representing an equivalent capacity is now being developed and should be ready by autumn.

Work on another big solar farm project planned by PPC for Megalopoli in the Peloponnese, to offer a capacity of 50 MW, is expected to begin in June.

On another front, PPC Renewables is currently working on establishing a major joint venture with Germany’s RWE by July or August.

PPC Renewables and RWE are currently working through a series of matters, including a number of legal issues. RWE will hold a 51 percent stake in this venture.

The two partners plan to equally contribute solar energy projects for a total capacity of 2 GW and a total value of approximately one billion euros, once developed, to this joint venture.

Talks on which projects each partner will choose to contribute to this joint venture remain at an early stage.

PPC Renewables is expected to contribute PV licenses concerning the west Macedonia and Megalopoli areas, while RWE is seen contributing project licenses or anticipated Greek project acquisitions being eyed by the German company for quite some time.

 

Ministry seeks recovery fund aid for west Macedonia gas pipeline

Development of a high-pressure gas pipeline in west Macedonia, in the country’s north, which would enable the country’s gas grid to be extended to the area, is among the energy ministry’s proposals for EU recovery fund inclusion.

Though still too early to tell if this project will become eligible for financial support through this fund, it should be pointed out that the European Commission is generally hesitant about backing natural gas-related projects.

The project’s inclusion, or not, in a national recovery and resilience plan being prepared by a special energy-ministry committee, currently filtering proposals by this ministry and other ministries, stands as a crucial test that could determine whether the west Macedonia gas pipeline project will become eligible for EU recovery fund support.

A national plan’s finalized list is expected within the next few days before it is forwarded, by early April, to the European Commission, whose approval will be needed.

The energy ministry is also seeking 300 million euros through the recovery fund for the redevelopment of the power utility PPC’s mining areas in west Macedonia, a lignite-dependent economy.

Regardless of whether the west Macedonia high-pressure gas pipeline plan will qualify for EU recovery fund support, gas grid operator DESFA appears determined to move ahead with the project, budgeted at 110 million euros and constituting part of the country’s decarbonization strategy.

The new National Strategic Reference Framework (NSRF) could serve as an alternative financing source, while DESFA will also consider company cash reserves and a bank loan if necessary.

 

DESFA to push ahead with west Macedonia gas pipeline

Gas grid operator DESFA is determined to push ahead with the development of a natural gas pipeline in northern Greece’s west Macedonia region, a project budgeted at 110 million euros, either with financial support from the EU’s current National Strategic Reference Framework or other financing solutions, including bank loans, if the project is ultimately excluded from EU recovery fund support.

Though a finalized decision on the list of projects to receive EU recovery fund support has not been reached, DESFA, according to energypress sources, will proceed with this pipeline project, part of the operator’s ten-year development plan for 2021 to 2030, totaling 545.5 million euros.

In examining its financing options for this gas pipeline project, DESFA will take decisions based on containing network usage fees to be paid by consumers.

The European Commission and European Investment Bank (EIB) no longer finance conventional gas-based infrastructure projects, unless eco-friendly hydrogen is incorporated into their plans. Even so, the west Macedonia gas pipeline has been included in the recovery fund catalogue as the project is linked to the post-lignite era.

Possessing a clearly developmental role with multiple benefits for the wider region, the pipeline represents part of the energy transition plan for west Macedonia, a lignite-dependent local economy, as it will help replace lignite-based energy, contribute to growth, and support the region’s industry.

The pipeline, to stretch 130 km, could be swiftly licensed, DESFA officials believe, as long as its financing plan is settled and municipal and regional authorities acknowledge the region’s gas penetration need. The pipeline’s delivery was forecast for within 2023 before questions concerning the project’s financing emerged.

DESFA focusing on gas pipeline for west Macedonia network

Gas grid operator DESFA and energy ministry officials are currently discussing financing options that could be sought for the operator’s plan to develop a gas pipeline needed to facilitate a gas network expansion in northern Greece’s west Macedonia region, energypress sources have informed.

DESFA is awaiting approval by RAE, the Regulatory Authority for Energy, for its ten-year development plan, worth more than 545 million euros, including the gas pipeline project.

The talks between DESFA and the energy ministry officials are focused on public funding possibilities, primarily European, to cover part of the cost of the gas pipeline, which would ultimately help contain the level of network usage tariffs to be covered by consumers.

Local officials anticipate this network expansion plan should qualify for EU development fund support, even though EU policy generally does not favor gas projects, as it clearly represents a development project that promises multiple regional benefits, including replacement of lignite-based energy, on the way out as a result of the country’s decarbonization strategy.

Besides the EU recovery fund, officials in Greece are also considering the prospects of financial support from the EU’s National Strategic Reference Framework or a number of regional development programs.

The gas network expansion plan in the country’s west Macedonia region will require the development of a 130-km gas pipeline from Trikala, in the mainland’s mid-north, a project budgeted at 110 million euros.

According to sources, DESFA has revised an original pipeline route plan, bringing the pipeline closer to cities where medium and low-pressure networks for households and businesses are to be developed by gas distributor DEDA.

Government determined to eliminate anti-RES movement

Government policy for renewable energy sources is focused on facilitating their development and regards the RES sector as a key source of economic growth, deputy minister for environmental protection Giorgos Amyras has stressed, during a virtual meeting, to regional authorities around the country, who have raised obstacles of varying degree, frustrating government officials and renewable energy investors.

Though the resistance by regional and municipal authorities opposing RES development is widespread, it has been especially strong in northern Greece’s west Macedonia area.

Officials representing this region have not just responded negatively to environmental studies submitted by investors, but also called for the suspension of all renewable energy licensing procedures until a national spatial plan is completed, still at least two years away, and a legal framework enabling regional and municipal authorities to block RES investments in their respective regions is established.

RES investors have expressed their frustration to the energy ministry, which will be determined to appease players, already annoyed by the imposition of an extraordinary fee on existing RES units.

The ministry’s leadership will be desperate to eliminate this destabilizing factor that could potentially undermine the country’s investment climate.

Given the large number of licensing applications, investors have indicated they are prepared to inject sizeable capital amounts for RES projects, as long as they are not caught up in misadventures and bureaucratic delays.

Preliminary talks for 9th post-bailout review begin today

Power utility PPC’s lignite monopoly ordeal, the effort to ensure proper functioning of target model markets, the progress of privatization plans, and Greece’s decarbonization master plan for the lignite-dependent local economies of west Macedonia, in the country’s north, and Megalopoli, Peloponnese, are the key issues on the agenda of the ninth post-bailout review set to be conducted by the European Commission.

Preliminary review talks are scheduled to commence today between energy ministry officials and Brussels technocrats. These will be followed by higher-level talks involving technocrat chiefs and Greece’s newly appointed energy minister Kostas Skrekas.

Though his predecessors faced plenty of pressure, especially over PPC’s dominance, the new minister could be in for a hard time if pending energy-sector issues are not directly dealt with.

RAE, the Regulatory Authority for Energy, and power grid operator IPTO are still seeking solutions to tackle problems faced by the target model’s new markets. They got off to a problem-laden start in November, prompting a sharp rise in balancing market costs during the first few weeks.

As for energy-sector privatizations, the plan to offer a 49 percent stake in distribution network operator DEDDIE/HEDNO appears to be making sound progress and attracting strong interest, as exemplified by the participation of 19 participants in December’s market test.

On the contrary, the privatization plan for gas supplier DEPA Commercial could be destabilized by the company’s ongoing legal battle with ELFE (Hellenic Fertilizers and Chemicals) over an overcharging claim made by the latter. This battle could delay and affect the DEPA Commercial sale.

The Just Transition Plan for Greece’s decarbonization effort is now beginning to make some progress, but this unprecedented endeavor’s degree of complexity cannot be overlooked. Vast amounts of land controlled by PPC need to be repurposed, Brussels must approve investment incentives, and licensing matters need to be resolved, amongst other matters.

Post-lignite telethermal plan presented in Parliament

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.

 

Decarbonization strategy’s spatial planning enters crucial stage

The country’s decarbonization master plan is entering one of its most crucial stages, the establishment of spatial planning for a just transition, or establishment of new commercial activity in regions to be financially impacted by the country’s withdrawal of lignite units, now underway.

These spatial plans, which will need to be submitted to the European Commission for approval, will determine the speed and success of the overall effort as just transition mechanism funding approval will be based on them.

A just transition mechanism sum of 5 billion euros is expected to be utilized. However, Greek officials will need to present analytical spatial plans detailing the transitions in accordance with the National Energy and Climate Plan. These plans will be incorporated into the EU’s National Strategic Reference Framework funding program.

Power utility PPC, monopolizing the country’s lignite facilities, will obviously be involved in the process. The utility will keep some of the land hosting lignite mines to develop its own investment plans, including solar energy parks.

The lignite-dependent economies of west Macedonia, in the country’s north, and Megalopoli, in the Peloponnese, will need to be completely redeveloped as part of the decarbonization plan.

It remains unclear when Greece’s spatial redevelopment plans will be ready to be submitted to the European Commission. They are not expected to be ready any time before the new year.

Mineral processing investment proposals submitted to post-lignite plan

Seven, possibly eight, investment proposals, for the construction of industrial plants to process raw minerals in northern Greece’s west Macedonia region into building and industrial materials, have been submitted to a committee overseeing the Just Transition Plan for lignite-dependent areas, energypress sources have informed.

An abundance of mineral deposits in the region, combined with incentives being legislated, are attracting the interest of enterprises active in the aforementioned domains.

Greece’s Just Transition Plan was published by the energy ministry earlier this month for public consultation until October 31.

Mineral deposits in the area include rock crystal, used to produce industrial glass, bricks, porcelain and colours; nickel, whose uses include reinforcing the durability of defense weapons and tanks; chromite, an iron chromium oxide; huntite, most commonly used as a natural mixture with hydromagnesite to produce a fire retardant additive for polymers; and attapulgite, its uses including mortar restoration.

Just Transition Plan objectives include the development of an industrial zone in the west Macedonia region that could host processing facilities for these mineral deposits in the post-lignite era.

PPC to offer lignite-dependent area residents 5% stakes in solar farms

Power utility PPC intends to offer residents of lignite-dependent areas in Greece stakes totaling 5 percent in solar farm projects planned by the company as part of its decarbonization strategy, chief executive Giorgos Stassis disclosed in an interview published by Greek daily Kathimerini yesterday.

PPC plans to develop and operate solar farms with a total capacity of 2.5 GW in west Macedonia, northern Greece, and Megalopoli, in the Peloponnese, both lignite-dependent economies.

Besides creating jobs through these investments, PPC plans to offer locals the opportunity to invest in the power utility by acquiring shares for total stakes of 5 percent, Stassis noted.

Through this procedure, residents will join PPC in its investments and enjoy the exact same returns as the company, he said.

“I want to underline the annual investment return on these investments will range between 8 and 10 percent, at a time when deposit interest rates are almost negative,” Stassis said. The offer will be restricted to decarbonization-area residents, he added.

Commenting on local resistance against prospective RES installations, especially on islands, Stassis noted: “Islanders who, for years, have enjoyed low-cost electricity generated in Megalopoli and Ptolemaida at a cost for the environment and human lives, cannot object turbine installations on islands for production of electricity they will consume now that lignite-fired generation has become ultra-expensive and is being abandoned.”

PPC’s new image a prelude to revised business plan, imminent

Retail outlets to open for extended business hours, digital products and new services, swifter withdrawals of lignite-fired power stations, as well as an acceleration in the development of major-scale and smaller RES projects are among the factors contributing to power utility PPC’s new corporate image, showcased yesterday, during a 40-minute event, by chief executive Giorgos Stassis, who described the new image as a prelude to a revised business plan to be presented towards the end of the year.

The revised business plan, to have a three-year duration, will be a more ambitious and confident plan than last year’s version as, besides swifter lignite unit exits, it will feature bolder digitalization steps, a more aggressive retail market policy, aim for a RES portfolio well over 1 GW over the next three years, through a pool of prospective projects totaling 6 GW, and also feature network and personnel investments.

Next year, the company will aim to double 24 existing retail outlets – they begin operating for extended business hours as of today – as well as 75 service centers that may be visited by appointment only.

Yesterday’s announcements represent just part of the developments to be gradually announced by PPC, the most imminent being a new series of digital products, dubbed PPC myHome, to be launched within the next few days.

The new business plan’s level of ambition will also depend on external factors, Brussels being pivotal. Settlement of the country’s ten-year lignite dispute with the European Commission will offer state-controlled PPC greater leeway.

PPC is also hoping for a favorable Brussels response within November on a compensation request for 200 million euros, annually, for every year lignite-fired power stations in the west Macedonia and Megalopoli regions will need to keep operating.

JTF plan includes 16 post-lignite projects budgeted at €2.5bn

The total cost of sixteen investment proposals concerning the decarbonization of Greece’s lignite-dependent areas included in the country’s Just Transition Fund plan, just released by the energy ministry for public consultation until October 31, is estimated between 2.3 and 2.5 billion euros.

The plan, offering project description and cost details, includes eleven proposals for west Macedonia, in northern Greece, and five proposals for Megalopoli, in the Peloponnese.

The proposals for west Macedonia include 2-GW solar farm projects by power utility PPC.

The power utility is currently developing a 230-MW solar farm budgeted at 133 million euros.

A Solaris Bus & Coach project for a RES-based hydrogen unit budgeted at one billion euros is also among the eleven proposals for west Macedonia, as is a 250-MW energy storage project by Eunice, to cost 280 million euros.

The five Megalopoli proposals included in Greece’s JTF plan include PPC solar farms with a capacity of 50 MW and budgeted at 250 million euros; a pharmaceutical production facility to cost 90 million euros and create 400 jobs; a smart-technology livestock and animal feed farm budgeted at 40 million euros; a theme park for entertainment and educational purposes to cost 40 million euros; as well as other public-sector investments worth 30 million euros.

 

 

 

Government’s post-lignite master plan set for one-month consultation

The government’s post-lignite master plan for the west Macedonia region in the country’s north, and Megalopoli in the Peloponnese, both lignite-dependent economies, is set to be forwarded for public consultation, possibly within the day, to enable observations and comments for a one-month period.

Power utility PPC plans to phase out its lignite-fired power stations and mines over the next three years as part of Greece’s decarbonization strategy.

The master plan’s draft will feature specific targets, studies conducted to reach conclusions, and the government plan prepared by a special decarbonization committee headed by government official Constantinos Mousouroulis.

The availability of funds necessary to support the development of this strategic plan will be pivotal.

Energy minister Costis Hatzidakis has announced that funds totaling over 5 billion euros will be made available for the post-lignite master plan through the EU’s National Strategic Reference Framework; national sources; the Just Transition Fund; European Investment Bank; and the European Fund for Strategic Investments, commonly referred to as the Juncker Plan.

Nearly 70 investment proposals have been submitted to the special decarbonization committee headed by Mousouroulis, while 16 major investment plans are now regarded as mature plans possessing the ability to create new jobs in west Macedonia and Megalopoli and reform the economies of these regions.

 

Gov’t plans 11 decarbonization investments worth €2.5bn

The government plans to facilitate the post-lignite transition of Greece’s west Macedonia and Megalopoli areas by promoting 11 big investments totaling 2.5 billion euros and also making available, through a six-year plan, national and EU support funds in excess of three billion euros.

This plan, already presented to west Macedonia working groups earlier this week, will be discussed today by a government committee before being presented to media by energy minister Costis Hatzidakis.

Besides the 11 major-scale investments, the plan, intended to reshape the production models of both regions, will also feature tax and financing incentives.

For decades, both the west Macedonia and Megolopoli areas have depended on lignite for economic growth.

The new plan will be based on five key pillars – clean energy; industry, small-scale industry, commerce; smart agricultural production; sustainable tourism; technology and education – for growth and utilization of comparative advantages.

Investment plans include the development of solar farms in west Macedonia and Megalopoli with a total capacity of 2.3 GW; a state-of-the-art gas-fueled power station in west Macedonia; as well as the establishment of electromobility industrial parks in both areas.

The government’s decarbonization plan for the two areas is expected to create 5,100 jobs, directly, and a further 6,400, indirectly.

The government expects to deploy national and EU support funds worth 3.2 billion euros for the overall effort over six years, with the majority of this total, 2 billion euros, to be made available over the first three years (2021-2023).

The plan is expected to be forwarded for public consultation in mid-September.

 

Post-lignite plan to Boston Consulting, Grant Thorton

Boston Consulting and Grant Thorton have been awarded contracts by Greece’s privatization fund to prepare a master plan for Greece’s post-lignite era, due at the end of 2020, energypress sources have informed.

The two professional services companies, awarded deals totaling 200,000 euros plus VAT, will need to deliver a draft of their master plan to a coordinating committee heading the task around early autumn, three months after contracts have been signed.

Their finalized version must be completed and delivered six months from now, or roughly at the end of the year.

The master plan will include policies to tackle job losses as a result of Greece’s decarbonization policy, as well as policies for the establishment of new businesses and jobs in Greece’s west Macedonia and Megalopoli areas, both lignite-dependent local economies that will be severely impacted by the decarbonization plan.

Boston Consulting and Grant Thorton will need to analyze all related data, including  demographics and infrastructure-related data, and identify competitive advantages offered by the two aforementioned regions.

Industrial infrastructure, farming, research and innovation, tourism, logistics, energy and the environment, as well as social policies will all be examined for sustainable growth not requiring state support following the post-lignite transition.

Most of power utility PPC’s lignite units are expected to be phased out by the end of 2023.