Ptolemaida power station

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{{#badges: CoalSwarm|Navbar-Greeceandcoal}}Ptolemaida power station is a 550-megawatt coal-fired power station in Greece. A fifth unit of 660 MW, Ptolemaida V, is under construction.

Location

The undated satellite photo below shows the power station in Ptolemaida.

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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.[1][2]

Units 3 and 4 were destroyed in a fire in 2014.[3]

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. The total projected budget for the construction of the plant is 1.32 billion euros, of which German investment bank KfW will provide 700 million euros.[4]

The plant was permitted in March 2013.[5] In April 2013 Terma SA and Hitachi Power Europe were chosen to construct the plant.[6]

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.[7]

In September 2015, PPC said it planned to begin construction on Ptolemaida V once "the necessary checks and procedures are concluded."[8] 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."[9]

Construction on the new unit began in 2016.[10] It is now planned for 2022.[11]

Financing

The expansion's estimated cost is 1.4 billion euros. The European Investment Bank has withdrawn funding from the expansion project because of its high CO2 emissions and other pollutants. Approximately one half of this amount (€800 million) will be provided by a syndicated bond loan to PPC under the guidance of the German government-owned development bank KfW-IPEX Bank and guaranteed by the German Export Credit Agency, Euler Hermes. The German government has been 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.[12]

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.[13]

Project Details of expansion

  • Sponsor: Public Power Corporation of Greece
  • Parent company:
  • Developer: Terma SA, Hitachi Power Europe
  • Location: Ptolemaida, Eordaia, West Macedonia, Greece
  • Coordinates: 40.409707, 21.787573 (exact)
  • Status: Construction
  • Capacity: 660 MW
  • Type: Ultra super-critical
  • Start date: 2022
  • Coal Type: Lignite
  • Coal Source:
  • Source of financing: KfW Bank

Articles and Resources

Sources

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