The current and upcoming interconnections of Greece’s energy infrastructure were highlighted by some of the country’s energy heads and executives at the 6th Southeast Europe Energy Forum 2022 that is being held in Thessaloniki on Friday.
Hellenic Electricity Distribution Network Operator (HEDNO) CEO Tassos Manos and Independent Power Transmission Operator (IPTO) Vice President and General Director for Technology, Development & Systems Strategy Ioannis Margaris both spoke to that effect at the forum’s ‘Power interconnections: Enabling green energy supply & configuration’ discussion panel.
Manos noted that HEDNO holds approximately 8 mln customers and a network of 242 thousand kilometers, almost six times the circumference of the earth, and is “in the process of transformation and modernization.” He also noted that low energy costs and energy interdependence rely heavily on distribution networks, and on energy transfer and their modernization.
In 2018, Manos added, the output of renewable energies was estimated at 4 GW, yet in 2022 this increased to 6 GW and the goal is to reach close to 10GW by the end of 2023. “This means an increase of 158% in 4 years,” he said, and he added that “in 2022 we plan to connect 3,500 renewable energy projects to our grid. Every day 16 new plans are connected, activated and running on our network.”
IPTO’s executive Margaris said that the company is an investor in the energy transmission system, and it is implementing a program budgeted at 5 bln euros until 2030.
The interconnection plan for the Greek islands has begun, he added, and a new interconnection in the Sporades group of islands has recently been completed; the interconnection of Naxos with Santorini has also begun, and the implementation of the substation in Santorini is progressing.
Within 2022, he noted, IPTO will be ready to contract the interconnection plan of Attica with the rest of the islands of the Cyclades (Milos, Folegandros and Serifos), while another large project that is curently being implemented is the interconnection between Crete and Attica, to go live in 2024. The modernization of the interconnections on the islands of the Ionian Sea is also progressing, he underlined, while within 2022 the high-voltage eastern corridor between Megalopolis and Corinth – including the substation in Corinth – will be completed.
The Southeast Europe Energy Forum is organized in cooperation with the American-Hellenic Chamber of Commerce and the strategic partnership of the Atlantic Council, and Athens-Macedonian News Agency (ANA-MPA) is a communications sponsor.
SOURCE; ANA-MPA
