PPC Chairman and CEO George Stassis spoke about Europe's energy transition and the need to invest in the development of networks in order to accelerate the achievement of the desired goal at the BloombergNEF Summit in London.
Mr. Stassis spoke about PPC's progress in recent years, highlighting that the group is implementing the fastest de-lignification plan by 2026, while at the same time being "on track to add 4.3 GW of new clean energy in Southeast Europe" by the same time period.
In detail, as Mr. Stassis said in a post on LinkedIn:
Achieving a clean, competitive energy transition is key to Europe's overall competitiveness and a sustainable world. But are we doing enough?
Today we had a constructive dialogue at the BloombergNEF Summit in London with Francesca Gostinelli, Keith Anderson, and Przemysław Jastrzębski, under the excellent leadership of Albert Cheung.
Overall, I would say that we are moving faster towards our goal, but we need to accelerate even more.
In terms of practical implementation, the approximately 240 GW of renewable energy deployed in Europe in the last three years has progressed rapidly thanks to a strong economic base. Solar and wind power are now the cheapest ways to generate 1 MWh of new electricity.
We have markets that work and give the right signals. We need dynamic regulation (not unpredictable) to reduce risk and invest in infrastructure. And we certainly need a capital markets association. Our most powerful weapon is unity in Europe and we need to make the most of it.
Network development is lagging behind. And it takes about 5 to 10 years to develop transmission networks; sometimes more than 10 years, according to the IEA, for fast transmission lines. We have to be smart and proactive. This means a dynamic and coordinated regulatory approach at European level for investment in our networks.
This is the only way we can continue to develop clean energy, carbonise EU energy and at the same time ensure security of supply.
The PPC Group is doing its part. Our development over the last five years is the definition of energy transition and security of supply.
In terms of generation, we have completely reshaped our portfolio. We are implementing the fastest de-lignification plan by 2026, while developing clean energy very quickly. We are on track to add 4.3 GW of new clean energy in the South East by 2026, doubling the size of our portfolio and then, with our robust planning, tripling it by 2030.
Europe does not have cheap gas. But what we do have is significant availability of solar and wind resources that are both complementary. And that was part of our thinking behind our major expansion in Romania. Romania has excellent wind resources and Greece has excellent solar resources. By combining them, we are creating an energy corridor in Southeast Europe and delivering value to our consumers through green and affordable electricity and products, while reducing dependence on fossil fuels.
And it's not just Romania. There is huge potential in the other countries in our region as they progress with their carbonisation plans.
Through our integrated business model (generation, distribution and retail of electricity) and the range of advanced products and services we offer our customers, we do much more than just keep the lights on. We power people's everyday lives while leading the energy transition in South East Europe.
