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Joint venture Ameresco Sunel Energy is the contractor in Lightsource bp’s solar power project in the central part of Greece. It has launched construction works and said it would complete the system with 560 MW in peak capacity within two years.
The construction of one of the largest photovoltaic systems in Europe is underway in Greece. Joint venture Ameresco Sunel Energy, the contractor, said it would complete the Enipeas plant of 560 MW in peak capacity in 18 to 24 months. The location is in the regional unit of Larissa in Central Greece and Phthiotis (Phthiotida) in Thessaly.
The project comprises the southern cluster of Skopia, of 400 MW in peak capacity, and Kallithea in the north. Spanning 2,800 hectares, they will consist of nearly 970,000 photovoltaic modules. The combined connection capacity amounts to 504 MW, according to an earlier announcement.
The solar park owned by Lightsource bp is expected to generate 900 GWh per year. It is quivalent to the electricity needs of 225,000 Greek households.
Fostering local economy
Ameresco Sunel Energy is a joint venture between Ameresco, from the United States, and Sunel, based in the United Kingdom, but with operational headquarters in Athens, Greece. The latter was founded in 2006 by Greek stakeholders.
“The Enipeas project will contribute to boosting the local economy. The presence of workers and contractors will drive demand for housing, groceries, and other local services, generating additional income for local businesses and entrepreneurs,” said Lightsource bp’s Head of Country for Greece Natalia Paraskevopoulou.
Enipeas project has strategic investment status in Greece
Ameresco Sunel Energy has a contract for engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) as well as for operations and maintenance (O&M). The firm said it hired several local contractors and service providers. The joint venture is also active in Bulgaria and Romania.
Sunel has implemented over 500 projects so far with a total peak capacity of over 1 GW in Greece, Cyprus, Turkey, the United Kingdom, France, Spain, Ukraine and the United Arab Emirates. It is currently constructing facilities in Greece, Cyprus, Italy, United Kingdom and Chile of more than 1 GW in peak capacity overall.
BP, formerly British Petroleum recently announced the intention to acquire the other half of the Lightsource bp joint venture.
Enipeas was originally founded by Ioannis Theodorakis as part of his family’s Group Theta. The government awarded the project with a strategic investment status in 2021. At the time, the investor said it would include an energy storage system in Larissa area.
The a EUR 395 million investment is financed by loans via the National Recovery and Resilience Plan Greece 2.0 and from Eurobank.
PPC building solar park in Greece that’s even larger
The Witznitz solar farm in eastern Germany is currently the largest in Europe proper, now at 650 MW in peak capacity after the completion of the final section, of 45 MW. The connection of the last segments to the grid is underway.
But also in Greece, state-controlled Public Power Corp. and its green energy arm PPC Renewables are building a giant solar park with two units in the Western Macedonia province. They have 550 MW and 171 MW.
Turkey hosts the Konya Karapınar PV plant of 1.35 GW in peak capacity in Asia Minor.
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