April 6, 2025
by in News

Cypriot minister not optimistic about cable project with Greece amid Turkish intimidation

Cypriot Minister of Finance Makis Keravnos said the Great Sea Interconnector (GSI) project still faces very serious political obstacles. He highlighted the pressure from Turkey, alongside the financing disputes with Greece regarding the EU-backed bilateral investment to lay an undersea electricity cable that would connect the two countries.

Following a second incident this month when Turkish navy intimidated ships researching the seabed, Minister of Finance of Cyprus Makis Keravnos expressed doubt in the feasibility of the Great Sea Interconnector (GSI). It is a project to connect his country’s electricity system with Greece’s through Crete, by laying a cable under the sea.

“I can’t say I’m optimistic, especially when there are still very serious political obstacles, namely those posed by Turkey,” the official said, as quoted by domestic media. Namely, Turkish corvette TCG Bartın has approached Ievoli Relume and NG Worker, Italian vessels conducting research for the interconnection, in international waters just north of Crete.

GSI investment concerns now have to be addressed

Nevertheless, a recent due diligence study by a hired foreign consultancy showed the draft bilateral deal heavily favors Greece’s Independent Power Transmission Operator (IPTO or, in Greek, Admie). The authors warned of an “unnecessary additional layer of risks for any equity investors in GSI.”

Keravnos said the document confirms his concerns and that they must be discussed. While the two sides are working to overcome their financing dispute, the project is suffering delays, increasing the risk of cancellation.

Keravnos said in October that the total cost could well surpass EUR 2 billion. The Crete-Cyprus part is substantially leaning on funding from the European Union. The idea was to later extend the interconnector to Israel.

Turkey has been obstructing both GSI surveys and hydrocarbon exploration around Cyprus. There were several incidents involving gunboats.

Cyprus craves interconnections, flexibility sollutions

Meanwhile, Cyprus is struggling to maintain the stability of its isolated electricity system. Oil-fired power plants are increasingly working near their upper limits in peak hours. Conversely, storage capacities, flexibility systems and digital controls are needed for mitigating the pressure on the grid at times of weather-induced jumps in the production of wind and solar power, but also sharp drops.

It is the only noninterconnected country in the European Union. Moreover, Cyprus has no access to natural gas yet.

GSI was formerly known as EuroAsia Interconnector.

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April 6, 2025
by in News

Race against time for Greece to avoid a blackout on Easter

Greek authorities are rushing to secure the electricity system against a possible blackout during Easter.

Greece currently produces much more electricity than it needs on certain days due to a high renewables penetration and insufficient energy storage. It should be noted that in 2024 the country became a net power exporter for the first time after two decades. Usually, extra power is no problem, as it is exported and curtailments ensure nominal system operation with no danger of a blackout.

However, this year there will be days when low demand combined with high renewable electricity production creates a problem. At Easter, demand traditionally craters.

Independent Power Transmission Operator (IPTO or Admie) estimates that on Easter Sunday the country’s interconnections would operate near their maximum safety limits. If even a single line goes offline, it would lead to a domino effect and the possible loss of all the connections with neighboring countries. As a result, the frequency will rise beyond safe limits in the Greek system, triggering the desynchronization of power plants and a blackout.

To avoid such a scenario, authorities have imposed adding telemetry systems in recent months to photovoltaic units of over 400 kW connected to the distribution network. Currently, the Hellenic Electricity Distribution Network Operator (HEDNO or DEDDIE) can curtail 1.9 GW of solar power capacity, but another 6 GW is unswitchable.

Telemetry must be enabled by April in small PV units

A deadline was given until February 13 to the owners within the latter category to add telemetry equipment so that HEDNO can curtail their production when needed. However, very few complied and the rest said they are still waiting for the systems to be delivered.

HEDNO estimates that 5,700 plants with capacities of 400 kW to 1 MW must be added to curtailments, as well as 600 plants with more than 1 MW apiece.

Based on the above, owners of solar power units and the two grid operators must add the ability by April to ensure system stability.

Gradual installation of energy storage facilities is expected to help significantly and bring curtailments down.

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April 6, 2025
by in News

Greek renewables sector slams curtailments bill for not including compensation

Power network operators won’t need to compensate renewable energy producers in Greece for curtailments, according to the latest bill of law. It prompted reactions in the renewable energy market.

The bill, submitted for public consultation, received damning remarks from the Hellenic Wind Energy Association (HWEA or ELETAEN) and various other bodies and corporations for the provisions regarding curtailments.

The country’s two operators wouldn’t be obligated to pay compensation. It should be noted that last year curtailments rose by 277% and reached 3.3% of all renewable production in Greece. They are projected to reach new highs in 2025.

The issue primarily plagues larger plants including wind farms, as they have the technical ability to respond to curtailment orders from the Independent Power Transmission Operator (IPTO or Admie). Conversely, smaller photovoltaic facilities connected to the grid of the Hellenic Distribution Network Operator (HEDNO or DEDDIE) have no such telemetering equipment, so they produce freely at all times.

Indeed, Greek authorities aim to make such systems mandatory in smaller renewables plants to be able to curtail them, to maintain system stability, especially during the days of Easter. If an owner fails to make necessary changes, they would be subject to a high penalty, yet to be determined.

Producers point to European law for compensation

HWEA expressed the belief operators should be exempted from compensation only if a proper framework is established that compensates larger producers for curtailments. In practice, it means any revenue collected from the penalties should be used as compensation for other producers.

HWEA: Producer compensation mechanism is necessary

The association added that compensation is obligatory under European law and therefore needs to be included in the regulatory framework.

“The only right way is for the government to conclude the long-awaited framework and introduce a specific producer compensation mechanism,” HWEA pointed out.

Cero Generation Holdings Greece said it is very concerned about proposals for IPTO and HEDNO not to be obliged to provide any compensation.

Curtailment responsibility shifted to aggregators

Another issue concerns the role of renewable energy aggregators, which represent groups of smaller producers in the market. Both HWEA and Elpedison said it is the operators that need to enforce and manage curtailments, and not aggregators, as in the proposed law.

With such measures, aggregators will face increased costs as well as the possibility of having their license recalled if they cannot carry out their new duties, the company pointed out.

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August 28, 2017
by in News

Macedonia’s MEPSO planning to rehabilitate its power transmission grid

The Electricity Transmission System Operator of Macedonia AD MEPSO published tenders inviting proposals for goods and services for its project to rehabilitate and modernize its nation-wide power transmission grid along with a power system control project. The total investment in the projects is estimated to stand at EUR 40.5 million.

The money to finance the projects in all their stages will be co-financed by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the Macedonian power transmission company. The bank said in a statement that AD MEPSO wants to use a loan from or a grant administered by the EBRD along with its own funds to complete the project to rehabilitate and modernize its sub-stations and other infrastructure and facilities.

AD MEPSO has invited interested companies to make offers for goods, work and services which includes procuring equipment for sub-stations, high voltage equipment, equipment for the remote monitoring of sub-stations, optical ground wire and overhead transmission lines along with their installation and telecommunications equipment among other things as well as work on the rehabilitation of a number of sub-stations and relay protection work.

The tender specifies that work is planned to be done on the rehabilitation of sub-stations in the towns of Prilep, Bitola, Skoplje, Veles, Štip, Probištip and Ovče Polje.

The Electricity Transmission System Operator of Macedonia AD MEPSO is a fully state-owned company, formed in 2005 following the transformation of the Electric Power Company of Macedonia. The company says that its main business is providing a smooth electricity transmission through the national high voltage network, power control and the organization of the national electricity market. It supplies power to large-scale industrial consumers such as Bucim, OKTA, Maksteel, Mitalsteel, USJE, Silmak, and the FENI Industry as well as to the low voltage grids of the EVN Macedonia and ELEM Energetika privately-owned power supply companies.

Source : balkangreenenergynews

June 22, 2016
by in Publication

Investment in Electricity Generation and Transmission

book1Investment in Electricity Generation and Transmission Decision Making under Uncertainty

Authors: Conejo, A.J., Baringo Morales, L., Kazempour, S.J., Siddiqui, A.S.

This book provides an in-depth analysis of investment problems pertaining to electric energy infrastructure, including both generation and transmission facilities. The analysis encompasses decision-making tools for expansion planning, reinforcement, and the selection and timing of investment options.
In this regard, the book provides an up-to-date description of analytical tools to address challenging investment questions such as:

  • How can we expand and/or reinforce our aging electricity transmission infrastructure?
  • How can we expand the transmission network of a given region to integrate significant amounts of renewable generation?
  • How can we expand generation facilities to achieve a low-carbon electricity production system?
  • How can we expand the generation system while ensuring appropriate levels of flexibility to accommodate both demand-related and production-related uncertainties?
  • How can we choose among alternative production facilities?
  • What is the right time to invest in a given production or transmission facility?

Written in a tutorial style and modular format, the book includes a wealth of illustrative examples to facilitate comprehension. It is intended for advanced undergraduate and graduate students in the fields of electric energy systems, operations research, management science, and economics. Practitioners in the electric energy sector will also benefit from the concepts and techniques presented here.

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