Major green energy hub planned in western Macedonia

A key part of the plan is a €2.3-billion, 300-megawatt data center at the Agios Dimitrios power plant. PPC said the facility, potentially one of the largest in Europe, could be operational by 2027 and scaled up to 1,000 MW, depending on demand.

The company also intends to invest €1.2 billion to develop solar parks on former mining sites in Western Macedonia, providing a combined capacity of 2,130 MW.

An additional €940 million will be allocated for energy storage projects totaling 860 MW.

PPC said the Ptolemaida 5 lignite-fired power plant would initially transition into a 350 MW open-cycle natural gas unit by the end of 2027.

It could then be upgraded to a 500 MW combined-cycle gas turbine, pending the investment decision for the data center.

PPC also plans to invest in Greece’s first industrial-scale green hydrogen production unit in the town of Amyntaio through the Hellenic Hydrogen joint venture.

The new projects are expected to create up to 20,000 jobs during construction and up to an additional 2,000 when operational, PPC noted.

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, speaking at Kardia Steam Power Plant to present PPC’s investment plan, described PPC as a “national champion.”

“I cannot describe in words how visionary and ambitious this plan is. It is a plan of global scope, not just European scope, which I am absolutely convinced that a company with the financial strength of the PPC and with the support of the Greek state and with access to European financial tools, is a plan that we can all implement together,” Mr. Mitsotakis said.