Plan to turn lignite plants into energy storage units
The European Commission is examining the possibility of turning Western Macedonia in northern Greece into an electrical energy storage center for the Balkans, in cooperation with the World Bank and companies that are seeking opportunities for the commercial development of unfledged or pilot technologies for energy storage.
In the context of the program for a smooth transition to the post-lignite era, Brussels has asked the World Bank to draft a study on the substitution of lignite and economic activity in Western Macedonia and in Silesia, Poland.
The baseline scenario examined by the World Bank provides for the utilization of the coal-fired units’ infrastructure – that will be gradually withdrawn from production in the first half of 2020 – for the installation of energy storage systems.
In February a joint mission by the World Bank and the Commission visited Kozani for meetings with local authorities to that effect, followed in April by discussions with the Public Power Corporation’s former administration. The proposal was formally presented by the World Bank in Brussels a few days ago and the Commission is currently studying it.
