Greek PPC builds huge solar park in Stara Zagora region

The Greek company PPC Group is accelerating its expansion in the Balkans, laying the foundations for its first solar park project in the Stara Zagora region. The project is called Colosseum and the facility will have a peak capacity of 165 MW and will also be equipped with a battery energy storage system (BESS). In addition to investments in Bulgaria, the Greek state-owned company will also invest in renewable energy projects in Italy, where the first two solar parks were recently put into operation.

The solar park in the Stara Zagora region is already under construction, the company explained in a press release. The project includes 260,000 bifacial solar panels with an expected annual electricity production of over 265 GWh. This is one of the largest investments abroad for the Greek government-controlled utility company

The Colosseum solar park will have a peak capacity of 165 MW and will include a BESS battery storage system with 25 MW of operational power and a capacity of 55 MWh. The liquid-cooled lithium iron phosphate batteries will support the operation of the photovoltaic plant and contribute to the stability of the electricity system, the company added.

 A 33/110 kV substation will be built on the site, the announcement said. The expected capacity of the photovoltaic power plant is equivalent to the eletricity needs of more than 45,000 Bulgarian households.

PPC has 550 MW of projects in the pipeline in Bulgaria

PPC Group operates an 18-megawatt wind farm called Gard in the country and another 550 MW in its renewable energy project. The company’s total online green energy capacity is 5.5 GW.

According to its three-year strategic plan until 2027, PPC Group will develop another 6.3 GW of renewable energy in Greece and the region. It revealed that more than 60% of them are under construction or ready for construction.

The first photovoltaic units from the strategic deal with Metlen in Italy were put into operation in December

In December, PPC Group announced that it had started operating the Carcarello and Luxenia photovoltaic plants, its first two facilities in Italy. They have a peak capacity of 20 MW and 12 MW respectively. This means a total of over 60 GWh of electricity per year from the two solar plants in central Italy.

The production can meet the needs of almost 15,000 households. The contractor for the two solar projects is Metlen, previously known as Mytilineos. The projects are part of a regional strategic agreement for photovoltaics for 2 GW. Another 160 MW of photovoltaic capacity is currently under construction.

Greece’s PPC is Romania’s largest renewable energy producer

PPC Group is Romania’s largest renewable energy producer, operating 25 wind, photovoltaic and hydroelectric facilities, as well as battery energy storage facilities.

Its subsidiary Reţele Electrice România invested 240 million euros last year in expanding and modernizing its electricity distribution network. The company plans to increase the number of smart meters in the three regions it serves to two million by the end of 2025.

The gas-hydrogen cogeneration plant in Kardia will be completed by the end of 2026.

On the domestic market, the Greek utility announced in January that it had started construction of a high-efficiency combined heat and power (CHP) plant. The future gas-fired facility is located on the site of the former coal-fired Kardia power plant in the province of West Macedonia.

The company expects to complete the €80 million investment in cogeneration by the end of next year. According to earlier updates, the facility will have a capacity of 105.3 MW for electricity and 66.5 MW for heat. You can learn more about the projects here.

The project envisages the use of a mixture of fossil gas and hydrogen. The group is building another gas-fired power plant in the Alexandroupolis region, Balkangreenenergynews recalls.