On Thursday 17 June, the European Commission authorised €166.7 million in Greek aid for the construction of a new liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal in Alexandroupolis, Greece.
The project will contribute to the security and diversification of energy supply in Greece and, more generally, in the Southeast Europe region, without unduly distorting competition.
Greece has notified its plans to support the construction of a new LNG terminal in Alexandroupolis, including a floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) for the reception, storage and regasification of LNG (complemented by permanent offshore facilities), as well as a subsea network and an onshore pipeline that will connect the FSRU to the Greek national natural gas network.
The LNG terminal in Alexandroupolis has been on the lists of European projects of common interest in the energy sector since 2013.
The terminal will be a potential new source of energy for the interconnection between Greece and Bulgaria (IGB). The European Commission approved public support for the IGB project, currently under construction, under EU State aid rules in November 2018.
The Greek authorities confirmed that the LNG terminal could be used for hydrogen and that the project would contribute to a cleaner energy mix through the increased use of gas rather than coal. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)