Greece eyes new power cable with Italy by 2031

LONDON (ICIS)–Greece and Italy will be looking to build a new undersea power interconnector with up to 1GW capacity by 2031, according Greek grid operator IPTO’s 2022-2031 preliminary development plan presented on Tuesday.

IPTO and its Italian counterpart TERNA will “examine the alternative solutions for the development of a new submarine interconnection between the Greek and Italian systems, while at the same time the possibility of utilising existing infrastructure will be explored,” said an official statement.

According to IPTO estimates, the new power cable capacity would range between 500MW and 1,000MW. The two countries are currently connected via one 500MW undersea cable which enabled the launch of day-ahead market coupling last December.

BULGARIA-GREECE CABLE

IPTO plans to accelerate works on the new 400kV overhead line between Nea Santa and Maritsa East 1 substation in Bulgaria, set to be completed in the middle of 2022.

The new line is expected to provide additional 1.5GW cross-border capacity between Greece and Bulgaria.

The existing Bulgarian-Greek interconnector typically offers around 200MW yearly and up to 550MW monthly cross-border capacity. Historically Bulgaria has been a net exporter of electricity to Greece.

The flows direction may change in future amid an expected coal phaseout as well as renewable and gas-fired capacity expansion in Greece in the current decade.

The spread between the two markets could flip in 2023 when the Bulgarian price is expected to reach an average €68.27/MWh which would be €2.44/MWh above the Greek price, according to ICIS Power Horizon model base case scenario.

The two countries are also planning to couple their day-ahead markets in April 2021.

IPTO will also research the possibility of building a new interconnector with Albania and to upgrade existing links with North Macedonia.

RENEWABLE INTEGRATION

The objectives set by the Greece’s National Plan for Energy and Climate (NECP) for 2030 and the long-term energy planning for 2050 require the acceleration and integration of new renewable units on a large scale .

IPTO envisages only 3GW of new renewable capacity to be added by 2031 which is 5.2GW lower than the NECP’s projection. This suggests that the Greek grid may face challenges when it comes to renewables integration.

The NECP committed to boost solar and wind generation, increasing total installed capacity from 6.5GW in 2020 to 14.7GW by 2030.

Regarding the expansion of offshore wind farms, IPTO seeks to boost “the development of offshore wind farms, as it significantly reduces the distances for the transfer of electricity from the source of production to points of connection of the system.”

STORAGE PROJECTS

The preliminary ten-year development plan has a €4.1bn budget, including for pilot projects for electricity storage.

Proposals include:

– A pilot project for the installation of battery systems on the island of Naxos, with a capacity of up to 10MW, expected in 2022.

– Storage projects in central Greece, which will contribute significantly to local congestion management due to high renewable penetration.

“An even greater acceleration of investments is expected through the new perspectives that are opened with the interconnection of large renewable projects, the development of offshore wind farms and the new energy storage technologies,” IPTO’s president Manos Manousaki said in a statement.