Greece's Public Power Corp. (PPC) has successfully secured the necessary funding for the ambitious development of a 550 MW solar plant situated on the grounds of a former lignite mine. The state-owned utility envisions that, upon completion, this expansive solar facility will account for nearly 2.5% of the country's total electricity generation. The announcement by Greece's state-owned utility, Public Power Corp. (PPC), highlights the financial backing secured for the construction of a substantial 550 MW solar plant. The project, strategically located in the Lignite Center near Ptolemaida—a town nestled in the Kozani regional unit of Western Macedonia—is anticipated to be fully operational by the year 2025.

Integral to the Green Transition pillar of the Recovery and Resilience Fund (RRF), the project boasts a comprehensive budget totalling €368 million ($397.6 million). PPC Renewables, a subsidiary of PPC, successfully secured a long-term loan amounting to €294.4 million. This financial package comprises €184 million from RRF resources and an additional co-financing injection of €110.4 million, facilitated by Eurobank and Piraeus Bank. The remaining 20% of the budget, equivalent to €73.6 million, will be covered by the company's own funds.

The extensive construction plans involve the delineation of three distinct sub-areas, collectively spanning approximately 10 million square meters. Within these designated areas, the installation of around 950,000 photovoltaic (PV) panels, employing bifacial technology on single-axis trackers, is set to take place. Once construction is complete and the facility is connected to the grid, the projected electricity generation from the PV plant is estimated to reach an impressive 1 terawatt-hour (TWh). To put this in perspective, this output is expected to fulfil the energy needs of roughly 200,000 households.

In a broader context, last August, PPC, in collaboration with German utility RWE, revealed ambitious plans for an additional 280 MW of solar capacity within Greece's former coal region in Western Macedonia. This announcement followed existing joint efforts between the two utilities in constructing solar farms elsewhere in the country. These initiatives form part of a more extensive strategy aiming to install 3 gigawatts (GW) of solar capacity in various mining regions.

The successful securing of funding marks a significant milestone in the realization of Greece's renewable energy objectives and underscores the commitment to repurposing former coal regions into sustainable sources of solar power. As the construction of the 550 MW solar plant progresses, it aligns with broader national and international efforts towards a cleaner, more sustainable energy landscape.