2024-05-08 10:23:55
Surveys and measurements necessary for the development of new offshore wind farms will be able to be carried out, in accordance with the new law of the Ministry of the Interior, by the Hellenic Hydrocarbons and Energy Resources Management Company (EDEYEP), with the aim of accelerating the promotion of the offshore wind farm development plan parks and the faster utilization of the national offshore wind potential. It is recalled that the aim of the ministry is for the tenders for the first floating pilots to take place in 2026, as these are investments that are considered to have a high added value. According to the country’s preliminary energy planning, the target for Offshore Wind Farms (OHF) is 1,900 MW in 2030, 6,200 MW in 2035 and 17,300 MW for 2050.
In the immediate future, the special purpose vehicle of EDEYEP and ADMIE is expected to be set up for the assignment of anemological and bathymetric studies in the marine areas that will be granted for the first wave of offshore, for which a relevant preliminary work has already been done. As soon as the vehicle becomes operational, it will announce the tender for the specialized company that will undertake to hire a vessel for the bathymetric and wind studies, estimated to last two years, for the installation areas of the first 1.9 GW, which the program. If the tender for wind and seabed studies is tendered in 2024, and the contractor starts them in early 2025 with an estimated delivery in 2026, it is possible that the concession tenders for the first six areas will be tendered that year.
The philosophy behind the government’s choice to deliver ready-made critical studies to interested investors is that this way they will have a lower development cost, and the more this is limited, the easier the investments. If the investor knows in advance how much and where it blows, as well as what and where the greatest and least depths are, the costs are reduced, thus the investment costs and thus the final cost for the consumer. Also another important advantage of this process is that all data from anemological and bathymetric studies will be available to potential players. By depositing a guarantee they will be able to access the data room data.
The anemological and bathymetric studies will be financed from the revenues of the pollutant rights auctions, with the relevant fund being recovered along the way from the amounts paid by the investors, for the purchase of the data. And their acquisition will be a condition for participation in the tenders for the concession of the development areas of the offshore parks.
It is pointed out that out of the 10 potential Organized Development Areas for Offshore Wind Parks (POAWAP) of the medium-term development phase (up to 2030 – 2032), a “reservoir” of 6 marine zones has been selected for the installation of the first parks, 1.9 GW.
Significant investments
Achieving these goals requires significant investments: more than 6 billion euros will be required by 2030 and more than 28 billion euros by 2050 according to the estimate of the Hellenic Wind Energy Scientific Association (ELETAEN). On the same wavelength, the Deputy Minister of Energy Al. Sdoukou stated that Greece expects investments of more than 7 billion euros in the next 7 years for the development of offshore wind farms, in order to reach the goal of 1.9 GW by 2030. At the same time, significant investments in infrastructure (ports, shipyards) will be required that will allow in Greece to become a hub for the development of offshore wind throughout the Mediterranean and Southeast Europe. In addition, Greek companies producing equipment or constructions can play a leading role throughout the region in the sector. At the same time, new well-paid jobs are expected to be created with these investments.
It is noted that in the preliminary Ten-Year Development Program 2025 – 2034, ADMIE has recommended that the first floating wind farms be developed in five marine areas, specifically in Thrace, Crete, Cyclades, Attica and the Dodecanese.
However, as there are reactions to the development of wind farms in certain areas, such as Crete and Corfu, it seems that the field where the new projects can be placed is expanding. The managing director of EDEYEP, Aristophanes Stefatos, recently emphasized that twenty-five areas throughout Greece can potentially develop into “areas for the organized development of offshore wind farms”.
“These areas cover an area of 2,712 square kilometers and at a relatively conservative, safe estimate could host 12.4 GW of wind potential. In the medium-term perspective, the aim is to have the first projects in 2030 – 2032. 10 priority areas have been identified, of which we can have a potential of 4.9 GW, but we will develop 1.9. That is, we have a pool of options, from which a subset will emerge, in order to achieve the goal we have in the National Energy and Climate Plan (ESEP), which is 1.9 GW”, emphasized Mr. Stefatos .
It is worth mentioning, finally, that IOBE recently presented an in-depth study for Greece, which states that the impact of offshore wind farms on the Gross Domestic Product can reach up to 1.9 billion euros per year, in increased revenue with more than 400 million euros per year and in 44,000 supported new jobs.
Source capital.gr