Four major projects, running to a total cost of around 3.5 billion euros, are expected to pass the scrutiny of an interministerial committee for strategic investments within the next couple of weeks before it is decided whether they are eligible to enter the streamlined licensing system for investments known as Fast Track. The evaluation of the proposals by the Invest in Greece Agency is almost complete and within the next few days they will be submitted to the committee of ministers responsible for providing the final stamp of approval.
According to sources, three of the four investments are in the renewable energy sources (RES) sector, while the fourth is by Thrace Gold Mines, which was the subject of some dispute at the committee’s last meeting in September.
The first proposed energy project involves the installation of wind farms on the island of Crete that will be connected to the national grid by underwater cable. The project has been proposed by Terna Energy and is budgeted at a total cost of 2.5 billion euros. The company has already received production licenses for wind farms with a total capacity of 954 megawatts from the Regulatory Authority for Energy. The project under consideration involves the development of 27 separate wind farms in the Cretan prefectures of Hania, Rethymno, Lasithi and Iraklio with a capacity of between 21 and 48 MW each and all of which will be connected to the national grid by underwater cable.
The second RES project is also a Terna Energy initiative and concerns a hydroelectric power generation and pumped storage complex in the prefecture of Aetoloacarnania. The 450-million-euro project foresees three hydroelectric generators with an overall capacity of 601.2 MW.
The third energy project applying for Fast Track licensing is a solar power plant in Lasithi on Crete with a capacity of 70 MW. Submitted by the company Solar Power Plant, the project has a budget of 270 million euros and is expected to generate 70 new jobs.
Thrace Gold Mines, meanwhile, is planning to mine in the area of Perama in Evros, northern Greece. The company is expected to invest 150 million euros directly into mining activities and another 190 million over a number of years. The investment is seen generating 200 jobs immediately and some 800 jobs indirectly.
According to sources, the proposal has already been approved by the Environment Ministry’s special committee for gold mining (which was not achieved in September’s deliberation of the proposal) and its report, which is believed to be positive, is now under the consideration of the relevant ministries. If the process continues to proceed smoothly, the company will be invited to submit its initial environmental impact study.