The conversion of the “Ptolemais V” lignite unit into a natural gas unit in 2027 was announced by the president and CEO of PPC, George Stassis, presenting the 2024 results to stock market analysts.
This was included in the company’s plan for Western Macedonia, among which the construction of large-scale data centers is now being considered as a possible option. An effort that, if successful – as Stassis emphasized – will be of decisive importance not only for the company but also for the country.
In relation to “Ptolemais V”, with a capacity of 660 megawatts, the plan foresees the cessation of its operation as a lignite unit in 2026 (when the delignitization plan of PPC and the country will be completed) and the start of operation as an open-cycle natural gas unit in 2027, in the first phase with a capacity of 350 megawatts. The investment for the fuel change amounts to 300 million euros, while there is the prospect of increasing the capacity in the future by converting the unit to combined cycle technology.
The shutdown of the last lignite unit marks the change in the energy model of Western Macedonia, where in 2019 there were lignite plants with a capacity of 3.4 gigawatts. By the end of the year, 1.2 gigawatts of photovoltaics will be in operation, to which batteries, pumped storage units and possibly data centers will be added, which require large amounts of energy and for which, as the head of PPC said, the demand is increasing exponentially due to artificial intelligence.
Stassis spoke specifically about the prospect of the “West Macedonia Valley” while presenting the comparative advantages of PPC in this market, which are the availability of land – probably in the area of the former Agios Dimitrios TPP – and the high-voltage network that previously existed to serve the lignite units. He clarified that the investment will proceed if the participation of a large company in the area is secured, for which discussions have already begun. In the first phase, the development of a 300 megawatt data center is being discussed with a perspective of 1 gigawatt in a later stage.
Finally, the head of PPC did not rule out the possibility – depending on the progress of negotiations with telecommunications service providers for the use of the aerial fiber optic network that is being developed in the electricity supply network – that the company will also be active in the retail sector, providing telephony and internet to end consumers.
ANA-MPA
