Green light for geothermal energy joint venture in Greece

Mytilene, Lesvos Island, Greece (source: flickr/ Anna Apostolidou, creative commons)

The Competition Committee approved the “entry” of private sector infrastructure player Helector (Ellaktor) into the special purpose company set up by PPC Renewables, the renewable energy arm of state-controlled Public Power Company. The special purpose company is being set up for the utilization for electricity generation of the four high temperature geothermal fields of Lesvos, Milos-Kimolos-Polyaigos, Nisyros and Methanos. The agreement is expected to be signed next week, which will make ELECTOR a strategic partner of the PPC subsidiary, in the utilization of geothermal energy.

As we reported in 2020, the company of the ELLAKTOR Group was announced as the “highest bidder” in the relevant tender announced by PPC Renewables for the selection of a strategic partner in the four geothermal areas. PPC Renewables has leased the right to research, exploit and exploit. of national interest (temperature above 90 degrees Celsius). The cooperation will be implemented through the joint subsidiary “Geothermal Objective II” ( 51% ELECTOR, 49% PPC Renewables ).

PPC Renewables will complete the research for the identification and characterization of the geothermal potential in these areas, with funding from “Geothermal Objective II”, which aims to develop 5 MW geothermal power plants in each of the areas over the next five years. (Milos-Kimolos, Lesvos, Methana and Nisyros), provided that the appropriate geothermal potential is identified.

The research budget for the four areas amounts to EUR 70 million and the cost of setting up the production units to EUR 50 million. Geothermal energy is a renewable energy source, which offers the possibility of producing base power, as it is available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, without depending on weather conditions.

On the other hand, the “start” of the partnership demonstrates the fact that PPC Renewables is the only Greek company that expects to be “present” in all RES technologies. Thus, in addition to the conventional wind and photovoltaic units, small hydroelectric projects , and geothermal energy through the lease of the above four fields, the “framework” of operation of the PPC subsidiary also includes biomass .

At the same time, the company plans to expand to new “green” state-of-the-art technologies, such as floating photovoltaics , having first submitted applications to the Energy Regulatory Authority (RAE) for projects with a total capacity of 50 MW. These projects are to be installed in mining lakes and irrigation lakes, mainly in the region of Western Macedonia.

At the same time, as stated at a recent conference the CEO of the company, Konstantinos Mavros, PPC Renewables intends to expand to offshore wind farms , for the utilization of offshore wind potential for the production of electricity. As Mr. Mavros pointed out, the activity in offshore wind farms requires large investment synergies, which means that the company will seek to “enter” through a consortium in this new industry.

Source: Insider