The European Investment Bank (EIB) on Wednesday said it has agreed to support construction of a new power plant in Greece by Mytilineos SA.
The new 826 MW CCGT Agios Nikolaos power plant will allow greater use of renewable energy resources in the country and enable the phasing out of lignite power generation in Greece by 2023, as well as supply long-term energy demand, EIB said in an announcement.
“The importance and vision of the Agios Nikolaos power plant to contribute to a cleaner energy future for Greece has been recognised by EIB’s first-ever loan to Mytilineos. The new long-term EIB loan shows how the EU Bank supports transformational investment in this country,” said Evangelos Mytilineos, Chairman and CEO of Mytilineos SA.
Christos Staikouras, Greek minister of Finance and governor of EIB, noted that “the EIB has unique technical and financial expertise in the energy sector and is a valuable partner to enable Greece to deliver on climate goals and move away from lignite use by 2028. We welcome the EIB’s recognition of the importance of supporting the energy transition in Greece and the new support for the Agios Nikolaos facility,” said.
As Andrew McDowell, EIB vice president responsible for lending operations in Greece said, “The EIB is supporting energy transition in Greece. As part of the EIB Energy Lending Policy agreed in 2019, we committed to supporting a pipeline of gas projects already under appraisal, before moving to renewables-only lending from 2021. That’s why EIB is pleased to provide 125 million euros to Mytilineos SA to support Greece’s energy security. The EIB looks forward to working together with Mytilineos and other leading energy project partners to support future clean energy investment across Greece.”
The EIB will provide a 125-mln-euro eight-year loan to finance construction and connection of the new plant at Agios Nikolaos Viotias in central Greece alongside an existing energy generation center and industrial site, a project worth 322 million euros.
The EIB loan is guaranteed by the European Union under the Investment Plan for Europe. The project promoter will monitor environmental impact of the facility during construction and initial operation. This will include specialist monitoring of aquatic fauna in the Gulf of Corinth, close to the site. The new Agios Nikolaos power plant is expected to generate absolute carbon emissions of 320 gCO2 / kWh.
This is within the European Investment Bank’s emission performance standard of 550 gCO2 / kWh in place when the project was approved. Since the EIB board approved the project the EIB has introduced a new Energy Lending Policy that will end all financing for unabated fossil-fuel power generation by the end of 2021.
