The construction of the plant should start in October this year as Terna Energy has made a final investment decision on the project for the construction of a pump-storage hydro complex in Amfilohia in northwestern Greece, which cost is estimated to 500 million euros.
The facility will have an installed capacity of 680 MW (production) and 730 MW (pumping), with estimated annual electricity generation of 816 GWh. The project has been on the EU’s list of Projects of Common Interest (PCI) since 2012, and its feasibility studies have received Juncker Plan financing.
Pumped-storage HPPs are important for the electricity system because they allow electricity from fluctuating sources, such as solar, wind and other renewables, or excess electricity from continuous base-load sources, including coal, to be saved for periods of higher demand. The Amfilochia hydropower complex consists of two production units and three reservoirs. Total effective reservoir storage capacity is 7 million cubic meters, equivalent to 3.97 TWh. The Agios Georgios unit has 5 million cubic meters and it will work with four reversible Francis-type turbines of an overall 460 MW or 496 MW in pumping mode, compared to 2 million cubic meters and two turbines at Pyrgos with the capacity of 220 MW or 234 MW in pumping mode.
