IENE: Thirst for investments in energy storage with 8.8 GW projects

The great interest for investment  in energy storage was highlighted at a workshop organized by the Institute of Energy of South East Europe (IENE).

Investments, which are necessary to achieve the goal of RES penetration, but also for the security of supply due to the dependence of wind and photovoltaic power generation on weather conditions.

During the IENE workshop, the president of the Energy Regulatory Authority Athanasios Dagoumas presented data according to which, since October 2019, the company has received 98 applications for storage projects, such as hybrids, batteries and pumped storage. In fact, as he said, the project of TERNA Energy in Amfilochia was the first to be licensed in 2011 based on the thermal unit framework of 2000.

The requested projects correspond to a power of 8.8 GW including that of Amfilochia, and to 8.2 MW without the latter. The Authority has given the “green” light for most of these, except for 34 projects with an output of 4.5 GW that are under evaluation.

Mr. Dagoumas noted that within the two months May – June the working group set up by the Ministry of Environment and Energy will have completed the proposals that will be the backbone for the drafting of a legal framework that will govern the terms of operation and pricing of specific projects.

Hydrogen storage

The professor of Energy Economics and Business Research of the National Polytechnic University and first president of Power Regulatory Authority Pantelis Kapros also spoke at the workshop.

Mr. Kapros noted that the first forms of storage that will be available on the market will be batteries and pumped storage. However, he also augured future developments with forms of storage that will be based on hydrogen and synthetic fuels (e-fuels).

According to professor Kapros, batteries and pumped storage will be the most prevalent storage technologies until the cost of energy storage technology is reduced. Based on the estimates of the National Plan for Energy and the Environment, he predicted that by 2030 the available energy storage capacity will be 3 GW, by 2040 7 GW and by 2050 12 GW.

The professor also stressed that the goal is to utilize energy storage in combination with RES for the conclusion of bilateral contracts (PPAs) between producers and consumers of energy.

His proposals also included tax incentives and the facilitation of project financing with financial tools as well as the ability of Managers to develop storage projects with private investors. A relevant example is the recent IPTO-Sunlight agreement.

TERNA Energy pumped storage

At the same event, the Director of TERNA Energy Hydroelectric Works Gioula Tsiknakou described the pumped storage model project in Amfilochia.

According to the company, it decided to go ahead with the investment, with works starting in October.

TERNA Energy is also planning another energy storage project that utilizes RES: the hybrid station in Amari, Rethymnon.

This is a 280 million euro investment, which is under study and will follow later on. It will include 89 MW wind farms and in combination with the pumped storage system at the Amari River Dam will have a guaranteed power of 50 MW.

Mytilineos’ extroversion

Mytilineos also participated in the IENE workshop, with general manager of the RSD (RES Development and Energy Storage) Nikos Papapetrou to list some of the important projects undertaken by the listed company abroad.

The RSD sector has been running since 2017 as an EPC and in partnership with Gresham House storage projects and hybrid stations in the UK. Gresham House controls 40% of the UK energy storage market.

The Greek company has built a 2.5 MW hybrid power plant in Italy on behalf of ENI and has undertaken hybrid storage projects in Nigeria, Tunisia, and Puerto Rico, with a total capacity of over 30 MW. The portfolio of Mytilineos RSD unit is supplemented with projects with a total capacity of 500 MW.

In Greece it has 21 projects in the pipeline, with a total output of 1.5 GW, with added value for Protergia.

Mytilineos RSD is in the process of exploring new energy storage investment opportunities in Australia, the United Kingdom, and Italy.