Western Macedonia will continue to be at the heart of the energy system with investments that will amount to 5.7 billion euros over the next three years, with the prospect of reaching 12 billion euros in the next period. The President and CEO of PPC George Stassis presented today, Thursday, April 3, in the presence of the Prime Minister, the gigantic investment program of the post-lignite era, which will create 20,000 direct jobs during construction and 2,000 jobs upon completion, from the NPP Kardia, which supplied electricity to all of Greece from 1975 to 2021.

Stassis spoke about the utilization of PPC’s production units in the region, saying that the company was and will be the development force of Western Macedonia with green energy, storage and digital technology projects, announcing the construction of one of the largest data centers in Europe that will lead the digital transition of the company and the country.

Demand for data is estimated to exceed 200 GW globally and the region as highlighted is ideal for the project (land, transmission network, fibre, workforce) absorbing an investment of €2.2 billion.

The project will be hosted in the courtyard of the Agios Dimitrios facility, while plans are in the works for a second phase of a giga data center estimated to reach 5.4 billion euros for data centers, transforming an infrastructure that will reach 1 GW.

At the same time, PPC is giving the residents of Western Macedonia the opportunity to participate in the green transformation of the company by issuing a 5 million bond loan, which will be guaranteed by PPC and will offer a fixed return of 8% to unitholders with a price of 100 euros for each bond.

Explaining the reasons for the energy shift, the PPC management said that electricity generation from lignite became prohibitive years ago.

The cost of producing electricity from lignite, due to the increased prices of emission rights, has far exceeded other ways of producing electricity.

Even the most modern lignite plants are becoming uncompetitive and effectively out of the market. The energy system is now going through low-carbon footprint energy production, through Renewable Energy Sources, and generally environmentally friendly technologies. Since 2010, lignite plants have been gradually phased out.

A new cycle

Our vision for Western Macedonia is to become a technological and green energy hub for the country andthe  SE. Europe, Stassis said. The strategic plan for Western Macedonia is for PPC to invest in green generation and energy storage that, in addition to the country, will also power the largest data center in Greece. Western Macedonia is moving from lignite to the green digital era.

PPC’s investment plan will finance dozens of different projects, from renewable energy and energy storage to new power plants, soil remediation, energy and fiber optic networks, and especially the data center. “We are changing the outlook of the region. We are building again together with the professionals of Western Macedonia. Young qualified people, primarily employed in the technology sectors, will come to live here. The new generation of the region will not have to leave to find work.”

The PPC is changing the face of the region. The black of lignite is being replaced by the green of restoration and the blue of lakes. It is changing the air of the region. Carbon dioxide emissions will be almost zero, he said.