Green light of the CoE for the hybrid in Amari of TERNA Energy

Of Haris Fludopoulos

The way for the implementation of the large pumping and saving investment in Amari, Crete is being opened by the Council of State, as according to information the supreme court rejected almost all the objections that had been raised against the implementation of the project, while for the only two issues that it recognized, the related solutions have already been launched.

Thus, the project is now proceeding with the approval of the Council of State, as can be seen from the ordinance as the relevant decision has not yet been finalized.

In more detail, according to information, the CoE did not identify any issues whatsoever with the pumping and saving part of the project, while with regard to the wind farm part, it only recognized the need to prepare a Special Ecological Assessment, as well as the removal of 4 wind turbines.

Both of these issues have already been addressed, as the relevant study has been completed, while earlier in the year a modification to the design of the wind park was approved by the competent authorities, reducing the number of wind turbines without affecting the total power of the park (72 MW).

Pioneering work

TERNA Energy’s clean energy production and storage hybrid project in Amari, Crete, with a total installed capacity of 153 MW, is the largest hybrid project in Europe and the first of its size and characteristics in Greece.

In practice, the project envisages the production and storage of clean energy, utilizing the pumped-storage method, which is the only way of reliable, strategic storage of electricity, which allows the integration of a greater percentage of energy from RES, covering possible problems of system stability due to unpredictability nature of RES production.

That is why storage solutions with increased added value, such as hybrids and pumped storage, are a priority for Europe as a whole, ensuring community funding and support, while this has been included by the government in Strategic Investments.

Local society

However, apart from the national and European importance of the project, its contribution to the local community is extremely important as it creates 1,000 new jobs at the start of the project and at least 100 for the period of operation, while supplying the local municipalities and communities with 110 million euros of additional income over a 25-year horizon, ensures residents a reduced electricity tariff and protects the local area from extreme weather events such as floods.

Specifications

By supplying the pumping operation exclusively from two wind farms with an installed capacity of 89.1 MW in the prefecture of Lasithi and the pumping savings at the Potamos dam in the prefecture of Rethymnon, an energy installation with a guaranteed capacity of 50 MW (75 MW installed) is obtained, which delivers to the system of Crete guaranteed energy 227 GWH.

The whole scheme includes three fixed-speed turbine pumps, 25 MW each, and twelve variable-speed pumps, with a total power of 38.4 MW. In this way, the existing reservoir of the Potamon Amari dam (lower reservoir) is being energetically upgraded, and the upper reservoir with a capacity of about 1.2 million square meters is being constructed. 450 meters higher.

The investment, amounting to approximately 280 million euros, has a domestic added value of more than 150 million euros, while the Crete Development Agency and the local government will enjoy annual revenues of millions of euros during the 25-year period of the relevant contract.