![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.enerjigazetesi.ist\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/yunanistan-maden-sahalarinda-3-gw-gunes-santrali-kuracak.jpg\")
sites<\/strong> in line with the nation\u2019s plan<\/strong> to phase out coal.<\/p>\nThe Greek solar market<\/strong> has returned to growth via public tenders and moves by\u00a0organizations<\/strong>\u00a0to embrace PV<\/strong> to reduce costs<\/strong> and hit sustainability goals<\/strong>. Plans for solar projects in the country\u2019s mining regions<\/strong> have also started to dominate headlines<\/strong>.<\/p>\n Utility PPC\u2019s goal<\/strong> is to install a massive 2 GW<\/strong> solar project in Ptolemaida<\/strong> in the Kozani region of northern Greece<\/strong> and a 1 GW installation<\/strong> on the Peloponnese peninsula<\/strong> in the south of the nation. Construction at Ptolemaida<\/strong> could start as early as next year.<\/p>\n Greece\u2019s environment<\/strong> and energy minister<\/strong>, Kostis Hatzidakis<\/strong>, made a formal announcement<\/strong> last weekend when meeting local stakeholders in Ptolemaida.<\/p>\n The minister said the PPC<\/strong> would move \u201crapidly\u201d to install a 2 GW solar plant<\/strong> in the region, which is known for lignite mining.<\/p>\n Utility chief executive\u00a0George Stassis<\/strong>\u00a0confirmed the state-owned electric company<\/strong> had submitted an application to energy regulator the RAE<\/strong> for a generating license for 1.5 GW<\/strong> of solar capacity<\/strong> in Ptolemaida in December.<\/p>\n pv magazine<\/strong>\u00a0has learned the PPC<\/strong> also plans to install 1 GW<\/strong> of solar capacity in Megalopoli<\/strong>, which also hosts mining sites<\/strong> and a coal-fired power plant<\/strong>.<\/p>\n The move is part of Greece\u2019s<\/strong> efforts to\u00a0phase out coal from its electricity mix<\/strong>\u00a0by 2028. Hatzidakis told interested parties in Ptolemaida the government will help the region shift to a fossil-fuel-free economic<\/strong> model. The 2 GW photovoltaic park<\/strong> is also part of the government\u2019s plan to create new jobs in the region as it transitions to a coal-free future.<\/p>\n The Greek government has requested technical assistance from the European Commission, the European Investment Bank (EIB)<\/strong> and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD)<\/strong> to design a new economic model for the country\u2019s mining regions.<\/p>\n Greece\u2019s mining towns<\/strong> will also be supported by the European Union\u2019s Just Transition Mechanism<\/strong>, part of the bloc\u2019s proposed Green Deal<\/strong>. The fund, if agreed between member states during this week\u2019s EU budget negotiations<\/strong>, would mobilize funds to support workers and citizens in the regions most affected by the transition to a coal-free future.<\/p>\n To date, however, stakeholders such as local councils<\/strong> have been slow to draft meaningful<\/strong> proposals for the energy transition<\/strong> in their areas.<\/p>\n The Greek branch of conservation<\/strong> charity the World Wide Fund for Nature<\/strong> has produced a documentary examining how the EU\u2019s proposed Just Transition Mechanism<\/strong> could affect Greece<\/strong>.<\/p>\n The decision to rid Greece of its state-owned lignite<\/strong> fleet also makes economic sense. The PPC<\/strong> is losing millions<\/strong> of euros each year by operating uneconomic lignite units<\/strong> and the company is running a<\/strong> huge deficit.<\/p>\n The Greek government<\/strong> elected in July appointed George Stassis<\/strong> to transform the PPC<\/strong> and upgrade its\u00a0outdated business strategy<\/strong>.<\/p>\n Part of the PPC\u2019s new strategy<\/strong> is to invest in renewables. The utility\u2019s advantage is that it has around 6 GW<\/strong> of renewable power generation capacity to license out, some of which is expected to be approved in the near future.<\/p>\n The government announced in January<\/strong> it will fundamentally restructure the renewables licensing<\/strong> regime by introducing a digital system to speed up<\/strong> approvals.<\/p>\n The PPC<\/strong> has signed memoranda of cooperation with international firms<\/strong> to jointly develop renewable power projects<\/strong> in Greece<\/strong>. This week, for example, the PPC signed an agreement with Portugal\u2019s EDP Renewables aiming to co-develop at least 400 MW<\/strong> of clean power capacity in Greece.<\/p>\n The PPC\u2019s proposal for vast solar parks in mining regions is likely to involve such PV farms being\u00a0broken up into special purpose vehicles to be co-financed with international investors.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, the Greek energy minister announced German developer Juwi is selling 204 MW<\/strong> of generation capacity which is under development in Kozani after being secured under three\u00a0tender contracts<\/strong>. The project capacity will be sold to Athens-based oil company\u00a0Hellenic Petroleum<\/strong>.<\/p>\n The Juwi project comprises three chunks of generation capacity \u2013 139.24 MW, 27.68 MW and 37.37 MW<\/strong> \u2013 with the largest slice having negotiated a tariff of \u20ac0.05446\/kWh<\/strong> for the solar power it will supply. The other two sections each secured a price of \u20ac0.06472\/kWh.<\/strong><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Greece has announced plans to install two PV projects at mining sites. The facilities are part of the national utility\u2019s new strategy and in line with the country\u2019s efforts to phase out coal. Greek national electric utility Public Power Corp (PPC) will fund 2 large solar parks on mining sites in line with the nation\u2019s […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":108768,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[51,53,49,24649],"tags":[67280,53114,5070,52259,67281,53563,53157,26059,67283,17505,67282,67279],"views":245,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.enerjigazetesi.ist\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/108764"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.enerjigazetesi.ist\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.enerjigazetesi.ist\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.enerjigazetesi.ist\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.enerjigazetesi.ist\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=108764"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.enerjigazetesi.ist\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/108764\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":108774,"href":"https:\/\/www.enerjigazetesi.ist\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/108764\/revisions\/108774"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.enerjigazetesi.ist\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/108768"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.enerjigazetesi.ist\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=108764"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.enerjigazetesi.ist\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=108764"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.enerjigazetesi.ist\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=108764"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Mega-solar plans<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Just transition<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Economic sense<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Kozani project<\/strong><\/h2>\n