A strong investor interest is recorded in the Licensed Area - Region of Thessaly, focusing, in particular, on the installation and utilization of High-Efficiency Combined Heat and Power Units (CHP) at state-of-the-art hydroponic farming greenhouses that are connected to the natural gas distribution network.
More specifically, two additional new Contracts for connection to the natural gas distribution network of EDA THESS have been signed, to supply CHP units of a total power capacity of 2 MW at greenhouse facilities in the region of Almyros, Magnisia. The first unit concerns the company “GEO Projects” with 1,8 million Nm3 annual natural gas consumption and the second, the company “AGREN” with annual consumption of almost 1.9 million Nm3. The 2 units that are going to be connected to the existing distribution network of EDA THESS have already received the Terms of Connection to the electricity grid and they are expected to be activated by September of this year.
It is worth noting that a model greenhouse facility utilizing a 4MW CHP unit has already been operating in the Prefecture of Karditsa for over a year now, supplied by the natural gas distribution network of EDA THESS, with consumption reaching almost 6 million Nm3 annually.
Two more, new CHP units in the Prefecture of Larissa are expected to be activated in April. They are installed in the well-known pasta industry «Melissa» with annual consumption of 1,1 million Nm3 of natural gas, and the greenhouse tomato farming facility of «AGRODER» whose consumption is expected to reach 2 million Nm3 annually.
Licensed Area, Region of Thessaly – the Region of Growth
Ten (10) more applications for the connection of Combined Heat and Power units with the distribution network of EDA THESS have been filed in the Licensed Area, Region of Thessaly, while the procedure for signing the connection contracts – in accordance with the Distribution Network Operation code – is ongoing and is expected to be concluded in March. The new CHP units are going to be connected to the existing, 30km long, medium pressure network of Kokkina – Almyros (SOVEL). It is worth noting that the existing SOVEL network that, in 2021, distributed in total 5,7 million Nm3, is expected to distribute almost 40-45 million Nm3 of natural gas at the end of 2024, after the potential connections of the new CHP units. The works for the connection of the CHP units to the natural gas distribution network also enhance the efficiency of the network Kokkina – Almyros as from 197.200Nm3 of natural gas / network km in 2021, the rate will increase to 1.243.200 Nm3 / kilometer in 2024.
To safeguard the sufficiency of distributed quantities, EDA THESS requested from DESFA to increase the hourly capacity of the M/R station at the City Gate of the Distribution Network at “Kokkina” from 10.000 Nm3 of natural gas/hour to 20.000 Nm3/hour.
The General Manager of EDA THESS, Mr. Leonidas Bakouras, stated: The people of Thessaly managed to cope with the hardships of the financial crisis and, taking advantage of new technologies, they stayed on a growth track leveraging exporting activities. The modernization and continuous development witnessed throughout the Region rely on the potential of its people, who envision and innovate, as also demonstrated by the ancient Greek saying: “the snake bit a Thessalian, and instead of the Thessalian, it was the snake that died”.
