The management of Public Power Corporation (PPC) is in discussions with multinationals from the information technology sector for participation in the large data center that it is planning in Western Macedonia and the first signals are encouraging, thanks to the significant advantages of the region for this specific investment.
An alliance with one or more investors for the implementation of the investment is expected to be finalized within one or two years, while all the projects planned by PPC at the former lignite mines are expected to be completed in 2030-2031.
PPC’s investment plan in Western Macedonia, amounting to 5.8 billion euros, with a possible expansion to €12 billion, under certain conditions, was presented at a special event, in the presence of Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis at the site of the Kardia Steam Power Plant in Ptolemaida on Thursday.
The advantages of the area for the installation of a data center were described during the event by the chairman and chief executive officer of PPC, Georgios Stassis, who said: “We have land, energy, a natural gas network, electricity transmission networks, a fiber-optic network with connections to international telecommunications hubs, water, district heating needs in the area, and a workforce. Our subsidiary PPC FiberGrid will create new ultra-high-speed connections of the data center with Thessaloniki and Igoumenitsa, and through the East Med Corridor cable – in which we participate – with telecommunications hubs abroad, as far as India and Singapore.”
PPC is now starting the process of issuing permits for the installation of the data center, with the aim of starting implementation within one and a half or two years and completing it within five years.
“The investment concerns the development of a data center with a capacity of 300 megawatts in the first phase, reaching €2.3 billion. If the right conditions are met, it will be expanded to 1 gigawatt, which will require additional investments of €5.4 billion and another €1.2 billion in energy units that will cover the additional demand,” explained the head of PPC.
“An additional advantage for consumers is the data center, which will not absorb cheap energy from the market, thus raising prices for other consumers, but will be supplied with an energy purchase agreement from the PPC units in the area,” said Stassis.