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Ptolemaïda power station is an operating power station of at least 660-megawatts (MW) in Ptolemaida, Kozánis, Western Macedonia, Greece with multiple units, some of which are not currently operating. It is also known as Ptolemaida-V (Unit 5).
Location
Table 1: Project-level location details
| Plant name | Location | Coordinates (WGS 84) |
|---|---|---|
| Ptolemaïda power station | Ptolemaida, Kozánis, Western Macedonia, Greece | 40.480491, 21.72746 (exact) |
The map below shows the exact location of the power station.
Unit-level coordinates (WGS 84):
- Unit 1, Unit 2, Unit 3, Unit 4: 40.480491, 21.72746
- Unit 5: 40.409707, 21.787573
Project Details
Table 2: Unit-level details
| Unit name | Status | Fuel(s) | Capacity (MW) | Technology | Start year | Retired year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unit 1 | Retired | coal: lignite | 70 | subcritical | 1959 | 2010 |
| Unit 2 | Retired | coal: lignite | 125 | subcritical | 1962 | 2016 |
| Unit 3 | Retired | coal: lignite | 125 | subcritical | 1965 | 2016 |
| Unit 4 | Retired | coal: lignite | 300 | subcritical | 1973 | 2016 |
| Unit 5, timepoint 1 | Operating[1][2][3] | coal: lignite[4][5] | 660[2] | ultra-supercritical | 2023[2] | 2026 (planned)[6] |
| Unit 5, timepoint 2 | Pre-construction[1][2][3] | fossil gas: natural gas[4][5] | 660[2] | steam turbine | 2028 (planned)[7] | – |
CHP is an abbreviation for Combined Heat and Power. It is a technology that produces electricity and thermal energy at high efficiencies. Coal units track this information in the Captive Use section when known.
Table 3: Unit-level ownership and operator details
| Unit name | Owner | Parent |
|---|---|---|
| Unit 1 | Public Power Corporation SA [100%] | Public Power Corporation SA [100.0%] |
| Unit 2 | Public Power Corporation SA [100%] | Public Power Corporation SA [100.0%] |
| Unit 3 | Public Power Corporation SA [100%] | Public Power Corporation SA [100.0%] |
| Unit 4 | Public Power Corporation SA [100%] | Public Power Corporation SA [100.0%] |
| Unit 5, timepoint 1 | Public Power Corporation SA [100%] | Public Power Corporation SA [100.0%] |
| Unit 5, timepoint 2 | Public Power Corporation SA [100%] | Public Power Corporation SA [100.0%] |
Unit-level fuel conversion details:
Unit 5: Conversion in pre-construction phase from coal to fossil gas in 2028.
Project-level coal details
- Coal source(s): Ptolemais-Amyntaio lignite coal basin
Financing
- Source of financing: KfW Bank
Background
The plant had five units of 620 MW. The first unit was commissioned in 1959 and the last in 1973. Unit 1 (70 MW) was retired on 18 June 2010 after 50 years of operation. It is owned by Public Power Corp (DEH), and fueled by the adjacent Ptolemais-Amyntaio lignite coal basin. Unit 2 is on standby mode.[8][9]
Units 3 and 4 were destroyed in a fire in 2014.[10]
Ptolemaida V expansion
Ptolemaida V is to be the fifth coal-fired unit at the Ptolemaida power station, with a generating capacity of 660 megawatts. In 2012, the total budget for the construction of the plant was estimated 1.32 billion euros. German development bank KfW agreed to cover approximately half of construction costs.[11]
The plant was permitted in March 2013.[12] In April 2013 Terma SA and Hitachi Power Europe were chosen to construct the plant.[13]
The plant will be constructed on the site of a dismantled lignite mine. Construction is set to begin in 2015, and the plant is scheduled to begin commercial operation in 2019.[14]
In September 2015, PPC said it planned to begin construction on Ptolemaida V once "the necessary checks and procedures are concluded."[15] However, according to the WWF, the start of construction requires a deposit of 400 million euros within 2015, which will come from the public company's funds at a time when the Greek government is facing mounting debts: "it is completely irrational for any publicly-owned company to disburse 400 million euros for a project that is economically non-viable."[16]
Construction on the new unit began in 2016.[17] It is now planned for 2022.[18]
In December 2019, plant sponsor PPC said it will finish construction of the lignite coal plant by 2022 and operate it until 2028, the year of Greece's planned coal phase-out. Environmental organizations have advocated to transform the half-built plant into sustainable energy infrastructure instead.[19]
In May 2021, Greece said it was moving up its coal phaseout to 2025, rather than 2028. As a result, PPC said it will likely convert Ptolemaida into a gas-fired unit in 2025.[20]
As of March 2022, Unit 5 was still slated for commissioning by the end of the year.[21] In July 2022, the expansion's launch was expected in either October or November.[22]
In September 2022, the Public Power Corporation announced that trial operations would take place through the end of the year, and the unit would be connected to the grid by March 2023.[23] In October 2022, preliminary testing was underway, and full-scale trial operations were slated for late October or early November.[24]
In February 2023, Ptolemaida V, Greece's last lignite-fired power station, was commissioned. Though completed, the project was not economically viable. The government stated that the project would either be converted to natural gas or operate as part of a capacity mechanism by 2028.[25]
In January 2024, Public Power Corporation announced that Ptolemaïda V would cease burning coal in 2026.[26][27]
Financing
In 2015, the expansion total cost was estimated at 1.4 billion euros. German development bank agreed to provide a 739 million euro bond loan in 2013, supported by the German Export Credit Agency Euler Hermes and arranged by the KfW IPEX Bank. Besides KfW, the project has struggled to secure funding.[28] The European Investment Bank has withdrawn funding from the expansion project because of its high levels of CO2 emissions and other pollutants.[29]
Opposition
In April 2014 WWF Greece and WWF Germany met with the KfW Bank Group, in order to hand over the petition signed by 15,000 citizens calling the development bank to refrain from financing Ptolemaida V.[30] The German government has been repeatedly criticized for coal lending: From 2006 to 2013, German taxpayers put up roughly €3.3 billion in overseas export and development credits linked to coal.[29]
Articles and Resources
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 https://web.archive.org/web/20240219041147/https://serbia-energy.eu/greece-tpp-ptolemaida-v-to-enter-commercial-operation-in-the-next-few-weeks/. Archived from the original on 19 February 2024.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 https://web.archive.org/web/20240125153635/https://energypress.gr/news/erhetai-i-nea-genia-ergostasion-ilektroparagogis-poies-htizontai-kai-poies-mpainoyn-se. Archived from the original on 25 January 2024.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ 3.0 3.1 https://web.archive.org/web/20240219041208/https://www.ekathimerini.com/economy/1200991/coal-free-electricity-from-2029/. Archived from the original on 19 February 2024.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ 4.0 4.1 https://web.archive.org/web/20240124173815/https://serbia-energy.eu/greece-new-ptolemaida-v-to-start-trial-operation-in-late-october/?pdf=57364. Archived from the original on 24 January 2024.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ 5.0 5.1 https://www.power-eng.com/coal/greeces-last-coal-plant-project-actually-converting-to-natural-gas-by-2025/.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ https://ppc-capitalmarketsday2024.com/.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ https://balkangreenenergynews.com/greece-inaugurates-new-ptolemaida-5-lignite-plant-supports-western-macedonia/.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ "Ptolemais Coal Power Plant Greece" Global Energy Observation, accessed on November 21, 2012.
- ↑ "Lignite-Fired Plants in Greece," Industcards, accessed April 2016
- ↑ "Ptolemaida power plant destroyed by fire," The TOC, Nov 10, 2014
- ↑ "German funds to go to Ptolemaida V plant" Ekathimerini, November 21, 2012, Archived Mar. 30, 2014
- ↑ "Ptolemais V," Public Power Corporation of Greece, Mar 29, 2013.
- ↑ "Hitachi Power Europe and Terna S.A. will construct Ptolemais V," Hitachi, 9 April 2013
- ↑ "Hitachi wins order for 660 MW lignite power plant in Greece," Hitachi.com, Apr 9, 2013
- ↑ "Provision of LG for the Construction of the new Lignite Unit Ptolemaida V," PPC Announcement, Sep 17, 2015
- ↑ "Reality surpasses Ptolemaida V. Will PPC insist?" WWF, 31 July 2015
- ↑ "SES PTOLEMAIS," GEK Terna Group, accessed Sep 2016
- ↑ "Greek coal: The EU’s dirty little secret" Euractiv, 25 Jan 2018
- ↑ "Πτολεμαΐδα 5: Ο ελέφαντας στο δωμάτιο της απολιγνιτοποίησης," Energy Press, December 16, 2019
- ↑ "Greece brings coal exit forward three years to 2025," Beyond Coal Europe, April 22, 2021
- ↑ "Fitch Affirms Public Power Corporation at 'BB-'; Outlook Stable," Fitch Ratings, March 8, 2022
- ↑ "Lignite units back in full force, 34% of energy mix in June," Energy Press, July 14, 2022
- ↑ "PPC to launch new lignite plant by March 2023," Ekathimerini, September 7, 2022
- ↑ "PPC’s Ptolemaida V nearing full-scale test, lignite output up," Energypress, October 6, 2022
- ↑ "Mitsotakis inaugurates Ptolemaida 5, Greece’s last lignite plant," Balkan Green Energy News, February 14, 2023
- ↑ "Capital Markets Day 2024," Public Power Corporation, January 23, 2024
- ↑ "Greece’s renewable energy surge sparks record low coal use," Beyond Fossil Fuels, June 10, 2024
- ↑ Nikos Mantzaris, Ptolemaida V: a new economic disaster in the making?, The Press Project, Mar. 31, 2015
- ↑ 29.0 29.1 "New coal-fired power enjoys support among bankers in Germany and Asia," E&E, August 13, 2015
- ↑ "Thousands of citizens call on the KfW Bank Group to stop investing in coal, starting from Greece," WWF, April 16, 2014.
Additional data
To access additional data, including interactive maps of the power stations, downloadable datasets, and summary data, please visit the Global Coal Plant Tracker and the Global Oil and Gas Plant Tracker on the Global Energy Monitor website.
