More than 800 MW of floating PV under development in Greece

Greek construction company and energy provider GEK Terna Holding Real Estate Construction has announced a plan to build three floating PV power plants with a combined capacity of 265 MW at three different water reservoirs in western Greece.

The three projects, which are to be located outside natural reserves, are expected to cost around €170 million, the company said in a statement.

One of the three projects, a 120 MW plant, is planned for the artificial reservoir of Kastraki, near the homonymous town in Aetolia-Acarnania. Furthermore, GEK Terna wants to build a 103 MW floating array on the water reservoir of Pournari, located on Arachthos River, and a 42 MW plant on an artificial lake near Stratos, which is also in Aetolia-Acarnania.

The company said the three projects were part of its plan to deploy around 3 GW of renewable energy capacity over the next five years. Of this capacity, around 1.8 GW is already in operation, under construction or ready for construction in Greece, the US, Central and Eastern Europe.

According to Greek newspaper Ekathimerini, GEK Terna is not the only firm with plans to develop floating PV in Greece, as PPC Renewables SA (PPCR), a wholly-owned subsidiary of national utility Public Power Corporation SA, is also planning to install 50 MW of floating PV capacity in the country.

The company is reportedly considering Polyphytou, an artificial lake of the river Aliakmonas in the prefecture of Kozani, and a pond in Florina, in northwestern Macedonia, for the deployment of 50 MW.

Moreover, the newspaper reveals that Interphoton Investment has submitted a planning application to Greek regulator RAE for the construction of a 500 MW floating PV project which is also to be located on Polyphytou, at the southernmost part of the broader geological basin of Kozani-Servia. The solar facility is expected to occupy around 4% of the lake’s total surface, according to Ekathimerini.