In the direction of preventing opportunistic business moves and giving priority to the more mature investment projects, so that the distorted development model of RES with queues of applications for projects that were never built is not repeated, the new institutional framework for Data Centers is moving.
The set of provisions of the Ministry of Environment and Energy that is in the final stage of preparation and is expected to go out for consultation within September, is said to be accompanied by quite strict criteria, both for the financial credibility of the prospective investor, and for the preparatory work regarding the maturity of the project.
At a time when the volume of applications to the Operators and especially to ADMIE, is increasing and already corresponds to projects of around 5 GW, the main direction of the new framework will be to promote the more mature plans, so that the granting of connection terms can begin on a priority basis, if possible even within the immediately following months.
Given this, it is considered certain that a large volume of the above applications will remain out, both for siting reasons and because the already finite electrical space cannot support them (the issue concerns both the Ministry of Environment and Energy and the Ministry of Digital Governance), as well as to avoid the mistakes of the recent past.
Back when a multitude of RES projects managed to secure a license, which they then hurried to sell on the secondary market, while in the meantime tying up electrical space for a long period and while much more mature projects were waiting in the queue.
Emphasis on mature investments
This is also the reason why the criteria will provide both for the submission of high letters of guarantee, as well as an approved Environmental Terms Approval Decision or a lease contract or some ownership titles for the plot that will host the data center. And this in order for there to be an additional tangible proof of the intentions of the prospective investor.
The same rationale also underlies the proposal of the Operators, which the Ministry of Environment and Energy is examining, for chronological priority to be bypassed during the examination of connection requests so that the situation, which for the time being remains “stuck” due to the inability to process files in saturated networks, can be unlocked.
According to the current framework, the applications submitted are examined in chronological order, which means that even projects for which there is an inability to connect due to saturation, cannot be bypassed. Consequently, the process cannot proceed to the next ones that may concern areas with available electrical power margin and therefore real possibilities of connection to the grid.
What the X-ray of the available electrical space shows
The central direction, following also the lessons learned by other countries, such as the USA, is that the local installation of data centers should always be done in relation to the overall operation of the electrical system and for this reason recent studies on the issue have been evaluated, such as that of PwC, which had been presented in March at an event of the Ministries of Environment & Energy and Digital Governance.
In a first X-ray of the Greek electrical space, the study had shown that the most free capacity for new investments is in Western Macedonia (630 MW) and in Thessaly (605 MW).
They are followed by Central Macedonia (485 MW), Central Greece (480 MW), Eastern Macedonia / Thrace (375 MW) and Epirus / Western Greece (250 MW). The list is completed by the most saturated Peloponnese (210 MW), Attica (180 MW) and Crete (140 MW).
It should be noted, however, that investment interest is inversely proportional. The same study had shown that in the ranking of Regions based on investment attractiveness for the installation of data centers in Greece, Attica comes first and is followed by Crete and the Peloponnese.
The new framework will take into account the experience of other countries, such as the problems caused by the uncontrolled onslaught of data centers in the USA, where the enormous consumption of energy and water triggered serious social reactions, forcing more than 100 cities and counties to put the brakes on their installation.
Similar reactions are also being recorded in European countries such as Ireland, the Netherlands and Denmark, where restrictions are imposed on the coverage of the electrical grid and on the expansion of infrastructure.
Who have taken positions in the Greek market
Several players are active in the Greek market, such as Digital Realty which through Lamda Hellix, operates ATH1, ATH2 and ATH3 in Attica, as well as HER1 in Crete, Sparkle with facilities in Athens and Chania, as well as Lancom, with Balkan Gate in Kalochori, Thessaloniki holding an important position in the Balkan market.
At the same time, Microsoft is developing three data centers in Spata and Koropi, while Amazon Web Services (AWS) has Direct Connect and Local Zone infrastructure in Athens, which are housed and connected at Digital Realty’s Athens-3 (ATH3) data center in Koropi.
Data4 is proceeding with an investment of around 80 MW in Paiania, while Data In Scale, a joint venture of PPC and the Emirati DAMAC, is promoting a unit of initial capacity 12.5 MW in Spata, with the possibility of expansion to 25 MW.
The largest project of course being launched in Greece is that of PPC in Kozani, of initial capacity 300 MW, which can be gradually expanded up to 1 GW, provided that the required demand from international hyperscalers is secured.
The project is not going to take a share from the available electrical space of Western Macedonia as it follows the logic of “behind the meter”. That is, the adjacent RES will directly power the infrastructure, without the energy being transmitted through the transmission system and therefore without burdening the local networks.