Korkia becomes an active investor in renewable energy projects in Greece: new partnerships established to speed up the green transition of the country

News | 25.11.2022

The Korkia-funded partnerships will develop several solar power parks on the mainland of Greece and the island of Crete, targeting renewable energy production capacity of over one gigawatt. These projects support the transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy. The solar power projects are planned together with energy storage in order to help balance the electrical system.

New solar power projects are developed for the Thessaly region and the island of Crete. Compared to the existing solar power parks in these areas, the planned projects are very large. The aim is for the projects to reach the building phase starting in 2024. Korkia’s partners are GH Energy in Thessaly and AA Sunshine in Crete.

“It is great to be able to be involved in speeding up the green transition in Greece, working together with the best local professionals. This business is all about being local and our role is to back the locals, be an enabler and accelerator of the green transition. We are lucky to have both GH Energy and AA Sunshine as our partners”, says Korkia’s Mikko Kantero.

Subsea cables turn Crete into a photovoltaic hub that provides renewable energy to mainland Greece

There will be two subsea cables laid between the island of Crete and the mainland of Greece. The first of the cables has already been connected and is operational, and the plan is to finalize the construction of the second one by the end of 2023. The main driver for these projects is to integrate the island into the main transmission system and to reinforce the transmission network.

Crete is one of the best places in Europe when it comes to solar radiation and the production of solar energy. The aim of the subsea cables is to allow Crete to become a solar power factory that supplies environmentally friendly electrical power to the mainland of Greece.

“We are very pleased to team up with Korkia. It is an undeniable fact that we need to find alternatives for gas and other fossil fuels. We at AA Sunshine have extensive knowledge on renewable energy development and understanding of local conditions in Crete.  This will enable us to ramp up the development pipeline efficiently”, Manos Androulakis from AA Sunshine tells.

The projects support Greece’s target of generating over half of its electricity from renewable energy by 2030

Greece is transitioning from fossil fuels, i.e. coal and gas, to the production of renewable energy. Due to its climate and geography, Greece will be able to make much more use than currently of its renewable energy sources. The EU also provides support for renewable energy investments in Greece.

The country aims to produce over half of its electrical power in 2030 using renewable sources. Because the production capacity of renewable energy varies according to the weather, the new projects also include the design of energy storages that will help in the balancing of the electrical system and in the increasing of renewable energy.

“We have been developing solar projects over the last six years. Thessaly is known as the central hub for Greece’s electricity transmission and has suitable land areas for solar projects. There is a lot of potential for growth, and we see great value in combining solar projects with energy storage. We are looking forward to working with Korkia”, says George Haloulis of GH Energy.

For further information:

Mikko Kantero
Executive Vice President, Renewable Energy
Korkia
+358 50 2247
mikko.kantero@korkia.fi