Terna won the contract for the construction of the second of the three parts of a 490 MW solar park in Megalopolis, on former lignite mines. Public Power Corp. – PPC Group said the third phase would begin next year.
The second phase of the construction of a 490 MW photovoltaic plant in Megalopolis is beginning, transforming former lignite sites in the Peloponnese peninsula into a green energy hub. PPC Group’s subsidiary PPC Renewables signed an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract for 125 MW on 49.4 hectares with Terna, part of the GEK Terna conglomerate.
The first phase, 125 MW, is under construction. PPC intends to complete it by the end of the year. It expects to begin building the third phase, 240 MW, in 2026.
Bifacial panels to be on fixed structures
The second part entails 215,000 bifacial solar panels on fixed structures. The facility would be connected to the Megalopoli Ultra High Voltage Substation via a new high voltage substation at the Neo Choremi site.
The entire 490 MW would generate an estimate 860 GWh per year, the announcement reads. It is equivalent to the electricity needs of 215,000 households. The projected output would prevent carbon dioxide emissions of 430,000 tons per year.
PPC already has a 50 MW photovoltaic plant in Megalopolis, the smaller of the two coal regions in Greece.
Replicating solar makeover from Western Macedonia
Deputy Chief Executive Officer of PPC Group and CEO of PPC Renewables Konstantinos Mavros compared the project in the Peloponnese to the ones in coal land in Western Macedonia in the country’s north. Just like in Ptolemaida, the Megalopoli photovoltaic plant is going to replace the the production of electricity from coal and ensure the historic continuity of the area’s role in energy supply, he pointed out.
The utility’s three-year strategic plan for the period through 2027 is to install 5.6 GW more from renewables in Greece and Southeastern Europe, reaching 11.8 GW in the segment. PPC said it is also looking to expand its portfolio with new technologies such as offshore wind power and floating photovoltaics, also known as floatovoltaics.
Following a successful first round, in which developers won government support for projects of 1.53 GW altogether, the Romanian Ministry of Energy issued another call, for 3.47 GW of wind and solar power capacity. The deadline for submissions is July 11.
The Ministry of Energy of Romania issued a public call for the second round of auctions under a mechanism for awarding contracts for difference (CfDs). With EUR 3 billion at hand, via the European Union’s Modernisation Fund, the country is supporting an overall 5 GW of wind and solar power capacity.
Developers can apply by July 11 for the remaining quotas of 2 GW for wind parks and 1.47 GW for photovoltaic facilities. In the first round, 21 participants won the subsidies for 1.1 GW and 432 MW, respectively.
Romania cuts ceiling prices
Ceiling prices for government support are lower this time. Wind power is at EUR 80 per MWh or EUR 2 per MWh under the previous maximum possible bid. The authorities slashed the cap for solar power to EUR 73 per MWh from EUR 78 per MWh.
The contracts for difference would last 15 years. The burden of administrative and electricity transmission expenses is passed on to consumers.
More leeway for large players as they are no longer limited to 25% of quota
Another difference is that the 25% cap on the maximum capacity awarded per applicant was scrapped, the documentation shows. In addition, there is a possibility to award up to 20% more capacity than in the nominal quota. Minister of Energy Sebastian Burduja explained that the idea is to avoid the risk of losing a large project with a marginal bid.
He noted that Radramo Power is developing the largest wind power project from the first auction, 245 MW. The Heliowin project, for 125 MW, is the biggest one in the PV segment. It belongs to Israeli company Econergy. Both proposed facilities will launch production by January 28, according to the schedule.
In the first phase, applicants will qualify with their technical offers. The plan is to open financial bids from eligible entities on August 13, and the winners would have until September 9 to sign the contracts. Romania’s transmission system operator Transelectrica has the task to evaluate the applications.
In the municipality of Avren in Bulgaria, citizens and activists will gather on May 18 to express their opposition to a plan to build a wind farm with 29 turbines, which implies the clearing of 30 hectares of forest.
The eastern Bulgarian municipality of Avren is home to valuable forest ecosystems and it lies along one of the most important bird migration routes in Europe – the Via Pontica. A local forest protection initiative, which is organizing a protest on May 18 against a wind farm project, said the decision to change the forest land designation was made without public consultation or an environmental impact assessment, arguing it was against the law.
The said natural resources are of both national and international importance for biodiversity conservation and maintaining the ecological balance of the Black Sea region, protest organizers claim. Although the wind farm project may appear green at first glance, the construction of 29 turbines would require cutting down 30 hectares of forest, they warned. Moreover, the project is located near protected areas within the Natura 2000 network and intersects a key migratory route for birds.
Nearly 9,000 citizens have signed a petition calling for a moratorium on projects affecting forests
Almost 9,000 citizens have signed a petition demanding a moratorium on all projects affecting forests in the area until a comprehensive assessment of cumulative environmental impacts is conducted. They are calling for the suspension of the procedure to amend the general urban development plan and for halting the project, which they deem illegal and harmful to both nature and people.
They are demanding a full and independent environmental impact assessment, including a compatibility evaluation with Natura 2000, the organization of a transparent public debate involving the local community, scientists, and environmentalists, as well as to consider alternative locations outside of sensitive ecological zones.
On the other hand, the company developing the project claims the turbines would be equipped with thermal cameras and sensors to detect approaching birds, and that the wind turbines would automatically shut down if necessary. It added that the minimum distance from residential areas would be between 850 and 1,200 meters, in line with regulations.
The local authority supports the wind farm project. Mayor Emanuel Manolov said about fifty jobs would be created and that the local budget would receive between EUR 1 million and EUR 1.5 million annually.
A protest was also held in Kyustendil against wind and solar projects in nearby mountain areas
Citizens of the Kyustendil municipality have also voiced their opposition to wind turbines. On April 30, a protest was held in Kyustendil against the construction of a wind farm on Osogovo mountain and the expansion of a solar power plant on the Konjavska mountain. The municipal leadership and assembly have supported the citizens’ demands.
Bulgarian citizens have been fighting wind turbines for over a decade
Since 2012, no new wind farms have been put into operation in Bulgaria, mainly due to administrative barriers and legal uncertainty. Late last year, citizens from four districts – Dobrich, Silistra, Shumen, and Varna – protested in Varna, demanding a referendum on the construction of solar and wind power plants on agricultural land.
Earlier, the municipal assembly of Dobrichka (also known as Dobrich-selska – Dobrich rural) voted to ban the conversion of agricultural land into construction land for wind farms. A similar decision was made by the local parliament in General Toshevo. German company wpd plans to install wind turbines in both municipalities.
In 2023, authorities in Vetrino blocked CWP’s massive wind energy project. That same year, a draft law on offshore wind power in Bulgaria sparked opposition from fishermen, the tourism industry, nongovernmental organizations, and local authorities in the coastal city of Varna and its surroundings. It contributed to the fall of the government at the time, and the legislative process didn’t get far.
Citizens in other countries covered by Balkan Green Energy News are also resisting wind power projects. Last year, residents of several villages near Livno in Bosnia and Herzegovina managed to halt the planned construction of the Orlovača wind farm. Around the same time in Serbia, the Ministry of Environmental Protection issued nature protection conditions that prevented the construction of the Čestobrodica wind farm.
The recent blackout in Spain and Portugal started with the loss of electricity production in power plants with a total capacity of 2,200 MW in the south of Spain, according to an update from the European Network of Transmission System Operators for Electricity (ENTSO-E).
ENTSO-E published the sequence of relevant events from the incident on April 28, which caused a total blackout in Spain and Portugal. The system was fully restored after 16 hours. A small area in France, close to the border with Spain, was also affected by the incident, albeit for a very limited duration, the organization said.
At the end of 2024, Spain’s installed capacity for electricity production was 129 GW or 129,000 MW.
It was one of the most serious incidents so far, on a European scale, and the second one in just ten months in the Continental European Synchronous Area, formerly known as UCTE. It includes most of the European Union as well as Turkey and Southeastern Europe. The first blackout, in the Balkans, occurred on June 21 last year.
ENTSO-E and its member transmission system operators (TSOs), the EU Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators (ACER), national regulatory authorities (NRAs), and regional coordination centers (RCCs) have set up a joint expert panel to investigate the event.
During the half hour before the incident, two periods of power and frequency swings were observed in the Continental European Synchronous Area
The blackout was the result of a complex sequence of events, ENTSO-E said. It published a preliminary chronology.
During the half hour before the incident, two periods of power and frequency swings were observed in the Continental European Synchronous Area, between 12:03 and 12:07 and between 12:19 and 12:21, respectively.
“The TSOs of Spain (Red Electrica) and France (RTE) took actions to mitigate these oscillations. At the moment of the incident, there were no oscillations and the power system variables were within normal operation range,” the update reads.
Data so far has yielded the following sequence of events during the incident:
Starting at 12:32:57 and within 20 seconds afterwards, presumably a series of different generation trips were registered in the south of Spain, accounting for an initially estimated total of 2,200 MW. No generation trips were observed in Portugal and France. As a result, the frequency decreased and a voltage increase is observed in Spain and Portugal.
Between 12:33:18 and 12:33:21, the frequency of the Iberian Peninsula power system continued to decrease, touching 48 hertz. The automatic load shedding defense plans of Spain and Portugal were activated.
At 12:33:21, the alternating current overhead lines between France and Spain were disconnected by protection devices against loss of synchronism.
At 12:33:24, the Iberian electricity system collapsed completely, and the high-voltage direct current (HVDC) lines between France and Spain stopped transmitting power.
As soon as the disruption of the electricity supply occurred, the affected TSOs worked together in a coordinated effort to restore power in the affected region of France, as well as in Spain and Portugal.
The restoration process in Spain was finished at 4:00 on April 29
The restoration process started at 12:44 on April 28 and finished at 4:00 the following night. The restoration of the system was initiated by a black start of hydropower plants in Spain and Portugal.
The restoration process of the transmission grid in Portugal was completed at 00:22, data showed.
According to ENTSO-E, the investigation will be split into two phases. First, the panel would collect and analyze all available data on the incident to reconstruct the events of April 28 and determine the causes of the blackout. The insights would be completed and published in a factual report.
In the second phase, for the final report, the panel is tasked with establishing recommendations to help prevent similar incidents.
ENTSO-E was also in charge of the investigation of the Balkans blackout. The organization published the final report in March.
The recent adoption of the rulebook on renewable energy communities in the Republic of Srpska is a big step in enabling citizens, local authorities, and businesspeople in Bosnia and Herzegovina to join forces and produce electricity for their own needs. It was a key step in introducing citizen energy. The concept is a great opportunity for the Balkans, because it can provide many benefits like lowering bills for consumers, and a sustainable energy transition, according to Damir Miljević, a member of the Regional Center for Sustainable Energy Transition (RESET) from BiH.
The new rulebook on renewable energy communities in the Republic of Srpska, one of the two entities making up Bosnia and Herzegovina, defines the activities of renewable energy communities (REC).
Energy transition consultant Damir Miljević explained to Balkan Green Energy News that REC refers to the production of electricity from renewables, while citizen energy communities (CEC) include all types of energy. The rulebook adopted by the Republic of Srpska, in his words, is the first in the region. It is focused on enabling the production of electricity for self-consumption (prosumers) primarily from renewable energy sources such as solar, wind, and hydro energy.
Energy communities are an opportunity for citizens and businesspeople lacking suitable roofs for photovoltaics
He says the rulebook finally created the conditions at the local level – where the energy transition is supposed to be conducted in the first place – for citizens, local authorities, and businesspeople to join forces and produce electricity by installing a facility together. They can use some of the produced electricity for their own needs and inject the rest into the grid.
Citizens and small entrepreneurs who don’t have suitable roofs for solar power plants and municipal authorities with many roofs at their disposal as well as their own land can jointly finance and use such facilities. They will benefit both on the individual and collective level, Miljević pointed out. Without the communities framework, it wouldn’t be possible, in his opinion.
“In addition, conditions are created through RES communities to cede a part of the energy that the community’s facility generates, if the members of the community agree, to vulnerable categories of the population, contributing to the fight against energy poverty that way,” said Miljević, who is among the speakers at the upcoming Belgrade Energy Forum 2025 (BEF 2025).
Miljević: Elektroprivreda Republike Srpske needs to do its part
The rulebook’s entry into force enabled citizens, local firms and local communities to establish renewable energy communities, Miljević said and added that the only serious remaining obstacle is the refusal of government-owned power utility Elektroprivreda Republike Srpske (ERS) to sign new supply contracts.
Prosumers in the entity can’t fully exercise their rights, despite an order from the Regulatory Commission for Energy of the Republic of Srpska, as they haven’t yet received the new supply contracts from ERS, he pointed out.
Citizen energy is a great opportunity for Balkan states
Damir Miljević (photo: Balkan Green Energy News)
Miljević stressed that rulebooks are among the steps in introducing citizen energy. Miljević noted that the other parts of BiH haven’t established regulatory frameworks. The Brčko District has no bylaws, while the Federation of BiH has adopted the rules for renewable energy communities, but hasn’t simplified its rules for connecting prosumers and the communities to the grid.
Production onsite for consumption should become priority in energy policies and for decarbonization efforts in the Western Balkans
In Miljević’s opinion, the resistance is enormous and partly caused by the lack of recognition of the importance and role of citizen energy in countries such as the Balkans.
In contrast to developed countries – for instance, household consumption in the European Union has a 25% share in total final electricity consumption – in BiH and Serbia it is 42%, and in Montenegro it amounts to around 50%, he noted.
It means the concept of producing for consumption onsite should be a priority in energy policy and for decarbonization efforts in the Western Balkans, Miljević stressed. It implies putting solar panels on roofs on a significant scale, which is the essence of citizen energy, he added.
Citizen energy isn’t a priority in domestic and international policies implemented in the region
In addition to reducing electricity bills for customers, the concept contributes to reducing distribution and transmission losses and required investments in new grid capacities and new large power plants, and improves the security of supply and energy independence of a country, according to Miljević.
Citizen energy, in his words, is the only solution for a safe and sustainable energy transition and decarbonization of domestic power consumption, but unfortunately it isn’t a priority in domestic and international policies implemented in the region.
The lobbying effect of investors in the market shouldn’t be underestimated either, nor the fear and resistance within the politics and state-owned power utilities to the decentralization, democratization, and demonopolization of power generation that citizen energy brings, Miljević concluded.
Greece’s Independent Power Transmission Operator (IPTO) is completing the last elements of the Ariadne Interconnection project, one of the deepest subsea links in the world. The company plans to switch on the double high-voltage direct current (HVDC) cable between Attica and Crete by the end of the month. In addition, IPTO and its Italian counterpart Terna are developing a project for a second interconnector between them.
Final tests and equipment checks are being completed at the Damasta Converter Station in Heraklion ahead of the start of the trial operation of the Crete-Attica electricity link. The management of IPTO, also known by its Greek acronym Admie, and the HDVC Ariadne Interconnection project firm inspected the site.
The transmission system operator said it plans to energize it this week by injecting reactive power into the electricity system in the country’s biggest island.
The transmission of active power from Attica to Crete is set to begin in late May, the update adds. Ariadne consists of two 500 kV cables of 500 MW each. One end is in Pachi in the city of Megara, between Athens and Corinth, and the other one in Korakia in Crete. The submarine and underground cables were tested earlier.
Line on mainland is under trial electrification
At the same time, on the Attica side, a trial electrification of a 400 kV cable system is taking place between the Koumoundouros Converter Station and the adjacent Extra High Voltage Center. Ariadne Interconnection is the largest and most complex electricity transmission project in Greece so far, IPTO underscored.
Furthermore, a 150 kV transmission line between Chania and Damasta recently received the decision on the approval of environmental conditions (AEPO), the company added. It is considered necessary for an optimal combined use of Crete’s two interconnections with the mainland, the announcement reads. The first one, from Peloponnese, was established in 2021.
Ariadne, worth more than EUR 1.1 billion, is one of the three deepest interconnections in the world. The HVDC line’s capacity matches the interconnector to Sardinia, the strongest power link so far with an island.
The project is co-financed through the National Strategic Reference Framework (NSRF 2014-2020 and NSRF 2021-2027), via the European Union, with up to EUR 535.5 million. The idea for the endeavor dates back to the 1990s.
The contractors are Nexans and Prysmian. Each was responsible for one of the two cables while the latter also laid two submarine telecommunication lines.
Erdoğan again taunts Great Sea Interconnector by promising alternative cable
Ariadne is part of a proposed corridor with the Great Sea Interconnector project, formerly EuroAsia Interconnector, envisaged going to Cyprus and Israel. The Crete-Cyprus investment has been suffering heavy delays amid financing issues, ownership disputes and Turkey’s threats.
In early May, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan visited the Cypriot Turkish breakaway republic, recognized only by Turkey, and promised an interconnection with his country. He compared it to an existing water pipeline.
“Did we bring water from under the sea to Northern Cyprus from Turkey? Now we are in the second stage. God willing, we will bring electricity and with that we will cover the needs of Northern Cyprus in water and electricity,” Erdoğan stated.
Notably, IPTO denied yesterday a press report that it is considering the possibility, together with Nexans, the contractor, to alter the route and connect Crete with the Dodecanese Islands instead of with Cyprus. The archipelago includes Rhodes, Astypalaia (Astypalea), Kos and Tilos.
EBRD is providing a grant for the first studies for an interconnection between Greece and Egypt
In other news, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and Elica Interconnector, a member of the Copelouzos Group, signed a grant agreement for the first studies for the planned Egypt-Greece (GREGY) electricity interconnection.
IPTO and its Italian counterpart Terna signed today a memorandum of understanding to install a second undersea HDVC power line. The GR.ITA 2 project is for a double cable, two times 500 MW, scheduled for completion in 2031. The two sides earmarked a total of EUR 1.9 billion.
The existing 500 MW interconnector, in operation since 2002, is temporarily down due to a malfunction.
