BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 31
By Leman Zeynalova - Trend:
The Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) is needed as a cheap route to transport renewably produced hydrogen for exports, first as blending and later on as pure hydrogen, Trend quoted Hydrogen Europe Secretary General Jorgo Chatzimarkakis as saying.
It’s an important factor for the whole White Dragon project, he told New Europe.
"The White Dragon project indeed involves in the first line renewably produced hydrogen. The vast space of the lignite fields allows especially solar production," added Chatzimarkakis.
Chatzimarkakis stressed that the role of the EU is indeed paramount as Greece is a newcomer in terms of hydrogen. "But it’s a very fast learner. However, without the overall framework given by the European commission in terms of building up the infrastructure but also incentivising the markets it would be very difficult," he said.
White Dragon foresees the gradual replacement of the lignite power plants of West Macedonia and the transition to clean energy having as final goal the decarbonization of the Greece’s energy mix.
Asked if green hydrogen is enough to lead to the decarbonization of Northern Greece and phase out of the lignite plants, Chatzimarkakis told New Europe green hydrogen is important but it needs time to scale up. "We therefore might start with projects that encompass also low carbon hydrogen with different technologies," the Hydrogen Europe Secretary General said.
The White Dragon leans on solar energy for the production of hydrogen. The project involving photovoltaic facilities with an overall capacity of 1.5 GW is estimated to be worth EUR 2.5 billion.
The system is planned to be installed in Western Macedonia, currently Greece’s lignite heartland. The country intends to abandon the use of coal by 2025.
While the White Dragon is based on green hydrogen technology, which means the fuel is produced from water by using electricity from renewable sources, it also envisages the connection with natural gas pipelines. The project is intended for district heating, export via the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) and for fueling buses and trucks.
TAP will be able to transport 1 billion cubic meters of hydrogen per year.
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