Public Power Corp. (PPC), Greece's biggest electricity utility, is seeking to form partnerships in offshore wind, a top executive said on Tuesday, as the country works to reduce its carbon emissions.
The utility wants to shut down all but one of its coal power plants by 2025 and plans by 2023 to spend 3.4 billion euros ($4.13 billion) to boost its renewable capacity and upgrade the country's power distribution grid.
"We are going to form coalitions to enter offshore wind projects in the Aegean (Sea). We believe that there is an opportunity for collaboration in this field," Konstantinos Mavros, Chief Executive Officer for PPC Renewables, PPC's renewable energy arm, told an economic conference in Athens.
Greece has said it is working on a legislative framework for the licensing of offshore wind projects, which is expected to be ready in the coming months.
PPC Renewables aims to have a total installed capacity of 1.5 gigawatts, mainly from wind, solar and small hydroelectric power plants by 2023 from about 170 megawatts now.
Following a memorandum of understanding for the joint development of wind and photovoltaic projects with RWE in Greece signed last year, PPC has agreed to set up a joint venture with the Germany-based firm.
"We expect that by the end of the summer, we'll have in place a joint company with RWE to exploit a joint contribution deal with a total capacity of up to 2 gigawatts in Greece," Mavros said.
RWE had no immediate comment.
($1 = 0.8237 euros)
(Reporting by Angeliki Koutantou; additional reporting by Vera Eckert in Frankfurt; editing by Barbara Lewis)
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