Western Macedonia is being transformed by PPC into a vast construction site that will utilize all old and new electricity production facilities, multiplying jobs, creating a new vision and a global pioneer.

Six years after the prime minister‘s announcements to extinguish the lignite furnaces, a giant project is emerging and promises to change the economy and the development of the country’s former energy center, creating thousands of jobs and at the same time a new perspective brought by the expansion in green energy and the digital era.

The coherent plan presented yesterday by President and CEO George Stassis in Ptolemaida has a beginning, middle and end of about five years in which Western Macedonia will be transformed from lignite to a technological hub of international standards with full utilization of clean energy projects.

These projects include large green development projects of all technologies (photovoltaics, storage, pumped storage), lignite soil restoration, new natural gas plants and waste to energy plants, as well as the 300 MW mega data center that is at the core of the design and aspires to be the largest data center in Europe.

This is an infrastructure that will create an ecosystem of software development companies, AI engineers and other start-ups that usually follow a data center, let alone one of the largest in Europe. The mega data center that PPC will build will be a technological core that will function as a pole of attraction for technology and innovation for the region. It is estimated that for every new position in a data center, five are created in the region. The jobs will be well-paid and highly specialized, and there will be a boost to real estate and commercial uses in the region from the development that the new design will bring.

However, the most important thing for the society of Western Macedonia is that in a region where young people are leaving their homes for large urban centers, PPC gives them the opportunity to stay and work in their place, but also vice versa, for the region to attract people who work in cities.

In this plan, the first and last word in the regeneration of the region will be given to PPC itself, which undertakes its implementation, investing from 5.7 billion to 12 billion euros by 2030 -2031.
Strong interest

According to information, PPC has been approached by 5 to 6 of the largest hyperscalers on the planet, i.e. large data center service providers, as the interest in investing in data centers remains very strong worldwide. The international interest includes giants of mainly American origin such as Google, Meta, Amazon, Oracle and Open AI.

The competitive advantages of the Western Macedonia region bring together all the conditions necessary for investments of this size: the total area, the connection to the electricity transmission network, the fiber optic network and the workforce.

The finalization of the final investment scheme is expected to take place in one to two years, as by then PPC will undertake the entire licensing framework for the data center and the maturation of the project.

In the first phase, the PPC group is planning a Mega Data Center with a capacity of 300 MW, absorbing a total investment of approximately 2.3 billion. To understand the size, it is enough to consider that similar projects by leading international companies are in the order of 12 and 15 MW.

As reported by PPC, the data center will proceed after a binding agreement is signed. With a total building area of ​​50,000 sq m, the mega data center will be able to meet the needs of technology groups for artificial intelligence applications and cloud services.

As Mr. Stassis emphasizes, the energy supply to the project will be done directly from the production units (behind-the-meter) and not the network. In this way, its needs will not burden the national energy system as the energy requirements are very high.

For this purpose, two additional projects will be mobilized. The first is the upgrade of Ptolemaida 5 from 350 MW to a 500 MW CCGT with a prospect of increasing to 1000 MW as well as a new 100 MW natural gas unit (OCGT) in the yard of Agios Dimitrios, which will operate in the form of a generator for the exclusive support of the unit.

The cost of converting the lignite unit to natural gas will be 350 million euros for the first phase of the project.

In the “lignite yard” of the Ptolemaida 5 station, a new thermal treatment unit for waste-based energy raw materials is being considered – depending on the licensing framework.

The initial 300 MW project will have the possibility of expanding to 1,000 MW (Giga Data Center), provided that there is a commitment from hyperscalers. This expansion will require an additional investment of 5.4 billion and to support it, an additional investment of 1.2 billion will be needed in energy units in the Ptolemaida 5 area and in Agios Dimitrios.

The largest photovoltaic

In recent years, PPC has managed to take a strong lead in green development by leveraging its strong footprint in the lignite region.

In total, 2,130 MW of photovoltaics are currently being built, which can cover the needs of 715,000 homes and businesses, while thousands of jobs are being created. Among the energy transition projects, the following stand out:

• The “Phoebe” photovoltaic plant, with a capacity of 550 MW, being built in areas of the Lignite Center of Western Macedonia (near Pontokomi). The annual electricity production is estimated at 880 GWhe, which can cover the needs of approximately 196,000 households and prevent the emission of almost 440 ktCO2 per year. The nominal production of this plant corresponds to 1.8% of the domestic production of the Greek interconnected system.

• The “Amyndeo” photovoltaic complex, with a capacity of 940 MW, being built in the areas of Rodona, Filota, Lakkia and Perdikka of the Municipalities of Amyndeo and Eordea in collaboration with RWE. The annual electricity production is estimated at 1,500 GWhe, which can cover the needs of approximately 298,000 households and prevent the emission of more than 750 kt of CO2 per year.

• Investments of up to 940 million in 860 MW energy storage projects in Western Macedonia. Energy storage is the solution to the problem of renewable energy sources and former lignite fields are an ideal place for this.

This significant investment includes, among others, the development of two pumped storage projects, taking advantage of the natural elevation differences of the inactive lignite mines and is expected to create more than 1,300 jobs during construction, as well as hundreds of permanent jobs during operation.

Mr. Stassis also announced yesterday the PPC’s plan to expand Waste 2Energy with the installation of a generator of approximately 38 MW which, in addition to electricity, will be able to provide thermal energy to cover the district heating needs of the region. At the same time, it will be equipped with state-of-the-art anti-pollution technology, while it will also emphasize the recovery of recyclable materials from combustion products.

This is an investment of 300 million, which is expected to create 200 jobs during its construction, contributing substantially to the energy transition and sustainable development of the region.