INTELLIGENT BRANDS // Green Technology

PPC Group, the company behind the project, aims to turn the area, previously known for coal mining, into a major technology centre.

The data centre, planned for the Agios Dimitrios power plant site, will be a massive 300 megawatts in its first phase, with potential to grow even larger. This means it will have the capacity to handle vast amounts of data, making it attractive to big tech companies.

PPC Group will build large solar power plants on former mining sites to create a significant amount of clean energy, enough to power hundreds of thousands of homes.

The company is also investing heavily in energy storage, including large water-based storage systems and battery technology to help ensure a reliable supply of renewable energy.

The project is notable because it will bring greater development to the region in the form of:

• Jobs and growth: The construction and operation of this data centre will create thousands of jobs, boosting the local economy. It will also attract related businesses, creating a technology hub.

• Green energy powered: The data centre will be powered by renewable energy sources, meaning it will be environmentally friendly. This aligns with PPC Group’ s overall goal of moving away from coal and towards cleaner energy.

• Ideal location: Western Macedonia has the perfect conditions for a data

centre. It has plenty of land, strong energy infrastructure, and access to water for cooling. Plus, high-speed Internet connections are being put in place.

• Future expansion: The initial 300-megawatt data centre could expand to a 1,000-megawatt‘ giga data centre’ should big tech companies show interest.

Greece’ s Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, said:“ I cannot describe in words how visionary and ambitious this plan is. It is a plan of global scope, not just on a European level – a plan that I am absolutely convinced that a company with the financial strength of PPC and with the support of the Greek state and with access to European financial tools, we can all implement together.”

PPC Group Chairman and CEO, Georgios Stassis, said:“ PPC has always been, and will continue to be, deeply connected to Western Macedonia, a key driver of development and prosperity for the region and its people. Our vision is for the region to become a leading green energy and technology centre for Greece and Southeastern Europe. Our investment plan will transform former lignite areas.

“ The new era includes an installed capacity of over 3,000 MW of renewables, nextgeneration units that produce energy through conventional and alternative sources and 860 MW of storage capacity. This green energy will not only serve national needs but will be also able to power Greece’ s largest data centre and one of the biggest in Europe that will be built in the area once an agreement with hyperscalers is in place.” p

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