Germany’s RWE To Build 1GW Solar Farm in Greece, Battery Storage Project in Netherlands

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Germany based renewable energy company RWE and Greek public firm PPC have announced their final investment decision for the construction of an additional photovoltaic project in the country. The plant will be built through their joint venture company Meton Energy. This solar farm is the last project of the 940 MWp (870 MWac) Amynteo portfolio, which is now entering the construction phase. In addition, the joint venture between RWE Renewables Europe & Australia (51%) and PPC Renewables (49%) is developing a solar project pipeline of similar size in Greece.

According to the press statement by the company, the new solar farm “Orycheio Dei Amynteo” (Amynteo Cluster III) with a total capacity of around 450 MWp (432 MWac) is located in Western Macedonia in Northern Greece, within the boundaries of the former Amynteo open pit lignite mine. The construction work for the project is scheduled to start in the coming months with commissioning expected by the end of 2025. The partners are already constructing eight large-scale solar projects (Amynteo Clusters I & II) in the region, with a total capacity of 490 MWp (434 MWac). These photovoltaic plants are expected to be connected to the grid this year.

Katja Wunschel, CEO RWE Renewables Europe & Australia, said, “In partnership with PPC Renewables we are accelerating the energy transition in Greece. Construction work on our first eight solar farms is well underway. With our latest investment decision, we have prepared the ground for an additional 450-megawatt photovoltaic plant – RWE’s largest solar project under construction to date. This underpins our strong commitment to the Greek market with nearly one gigawatt of solar capacity under construction and large-scale solar projects of similar size under development.”

The latest project has accumulated €255.4 million ($274.5 million) of investment, subject to financial close. This includes €127.7 million from the European Union’s NextGenerationEU funds via the Recovery and Resilience Facility. 

Apart from this project in Greece, the company has now started construction of its first utility-scale Dutch battery storage project with an installed power capacity of 35 megawatts (MW) and a storage capacity of 41 megawatt-hours (MWh). A total of 110 lithium-ion battery racks will be installed at RWE’s Eemshaven power plant on an area of around 3,000 square metres. The storage system is planned to supply control energy and to operate in wholesale markets as of 2025.

The battery project is an important step towards a portfolio of innovative flexible assets to optimally integrate the weather-related fluctuating power generation profile of the “OranjeWind” offshore wind farm, which is currently in development, into the Dutch energy system, stated the press release.