Welcome to HYPERION 1
Sunrise over the Site.
A unique moment early in the morning: the sun rises over the HYPERION 1 site at an altitude of 480 m - seen from Siteia’s harbour. The sun shines right over the middle of the property where the plant will be constructed.
Please pay attention to the characteristic pyramid like hill on the left side. You will see this hill again on the first and the third photo of the following gallery of the site.
Site Gallery
The site »Fourniá« - looking to the North. The pyramid hill is to be seen at the horizon (left).
The site »Fourniá« - looking to the West. At the horizon an IBEDROLA wind park is to be seen.
The site »Fourniá« looking to North-East. The pyramid hill is again to b seen at the horizon. Far right
Oscar Kienzle shooting a photo of HYPERION’s weather station.
The access road to »Fourniá« entering the site.
The site »Fourniá« looking to the South. Stergios Tsesmetzis presenting the site.
Background
Crete represents 5% of the total electricity consumption in Greece. Nearly all electrical energy is generated on the island. Most of the electricity comes from firing marine fuel oil and diesel, only a small part comes from renewable energies (approx. 6% PV and 12% wind).
The Cretan power supply system is out-dated, expensive and represents major environmental problems. The Power Line to mainland Peloponnese is not sufficient to cover the growing demand. The power gap on the island is in the size of 600 MW or 2400 GWh.
HYPERION 1 will be a significant contribution
(a) to provide dispatchable and clean energy, (b) to produce renewable energy in a basic load mode,(c) guarantee a steady and secure supply and (d) offer supply flexibility unrivalled by PV or wind farms.
HYPERION • 1 is located at 26° 13’ east | 35° 10’ north.
The site is located on a 480 m high plain called »Fourniá«. See map attached. The area belongs to the municipality of Siteia (Sitia) and is located between the villages of Xirolimni und Palaikastro.
The site is fully accessible including heavy transportation.
A public road leads along the Fourniá (see map) and a special access road has already been constructed by SPPL as »agricultural road«.
This unpaved road with 10 m width has direct access to both the public road system and the property. This road will be converted into a paved public road when the construction phase is scheduled.
Where to find us?
Basic Project Data
The site (the area inside the yellow dots) is located at an altitude of 480 m, has a total area of 1,792,000 m² and is hidden in the mountains, so to say.
The plant fits excellently in the site and is accessible for heavy transportation via a public (now agricultural) road.
The conceived capacity of the plant’s turbine is 70 MW. The annual solar power generation will be 180,000,000 kWh.
Given the per capita power consumption in Greece (2020) this is enough power for 36,000 power consumers.
The conceived capacity of the plant’s PV auxiliary unit for own consumption is 10 MW.
The conceived capacity of the plant’s molten salt Thermal Energy Storage is 9 hours.
This guarantees a solar base load power – crucial for a stable transition from fossil to renewable energies.
State of Licensing & Contracts
In May 2008, an automatic weather station (AWS) with a Rotating Shadowband Pyranometer (RSP) was installed at the Hyperion 1 project site for the purpose of solar resource assessment.
In August 2008 the Memorandum of Agreement with 38 owner groups to acquire 39 properties of the site was signed. 14 years later the project is ready to build!
February 2011 the PRODUCTION LICENSE for a 70MW CSP plant on Crete with a thermal storage of 2 h (min.) was granted.
In May 2012 the FAST TRACK LICENSE, classifying HYPERION 1 as strategic investment in Greece & granting the project a number of priority privileges, was obtained.
The ENVIROMENTAL IMPACT APPROVAL based on comprehensive surveys was obtained in January 2014 and confirmed by supreme court ruling in September 2018.
The INSTALLATION LICENSE to construct a 70 MW CSP plant on the Fourniá was obtained in July 2017 (valid until April 2023).
The GRID CONNECTION AGREEMENT between SPPL and the Hellenic Grid Operator has been signed and the security payment was made in February 2021. The prolongation has been applied.
The POWER PURCHASE/CFST AGREEMENT between SPPL and the Greek renewable energy operator DAPEEP has been signed in July 2022.
According to current legislation, the applicable tariff for the anticipated start of operation in 2025 will be 268 €/MWh.
In 2023 the project is »Ready to build«!
Michael Tsgatakis and the surveyor during the autopsy of the site by the regional court.
What exactly is CSP?
CSP means »Concentrated Solar Power«. In a CSP system a large collector field of numerous U shaped mirrors reflects the solar radiation on to a receiver. The collector field comprises several hundred troughs placed in parallel rows and aligned on a north-south axis. The configuration enables the single-axis troughs to track the sun from east to west throughout the day, so the solar radiation is continuously focused on the receiver pipes.
Turbine Generator
290 °C
390 °C
385 °C
295 °C
385 °C /
380 °C
Aircooling
The receiver or absorption tube is tinted in order to achieve maximum absorption of the solar irradiation and to reduce heat losses. The receiver tube is filled with the fluid; either oil or preferably salt. Sodium, nitrate, potassium, potassium nitrate are used for the molten salt.
A high absorption coefficient of the absorption tube and its position in the focal point of the trough are the two important issues that need to be ensured for efficient heating of the working fluid. Depending on the concentration ratio, solar intensity, working fluid flow rate and other parameters, the temperature of the working fluid can reach 400 °C.
As the solar energy is concentrated 70–100 times in the system, the operating temperature reaches 400°C. The solar-to-electric efficiency is 15% for the system.
The parabolic-trough system is integrated with a steam-turbine power plant: The hot liquid heats water through a heat exchanger, the water turns into steam, that rotates a turbine. Like in a conventional power plant the CSP steam turbine turns the generator and electricity is produced.
Once the fluid has transferred its heat to water it is recycled and used again: the steam is cooled, condensed to water and ready to repeat the process.
One of the big advantages of the trough system is: the heat can be stored up to 9 hours in thermal energy storages (the TES) and used to generate electricity when sunlight is absent.
Some parabolic-trough plants use fossil or bio fuel to supplement energy production during low solar radiation or stormy weather.
The parabolic-trough system is more advanced compared to other CSP technologies. It is the most widely used CSP technology. At present, there are 77 parabolic-trough power plants in operation around the world; most of them located in Spain and the United States.
The Company
The HYPERION 1 project was developed by Solar Power Plant Lassithi EPE, SPPL and a network of profiled individuals and companies. The SPPL was established in 2008 as a limited company (EPE). Founder and Managing Director is Dr. Dieter Otten.
General Manager of the company is Stefan Mittmann. 100% shareholder of SPPL is EVIR RE GmbH & Co. KG in Zorneding & 30 Limited Partners.
The SPPL owns all rights and properties of the project such as the intellectual property rights, the land rights (the »Memorandum «), all licenses and and approvals to immediately build the HYPERION power plant as well as the ease of way for the Road Access.
SPPL is member of the Greek Fast Track Legislation.
The Team Board
The Team is formed by: Axel Großkreutz, Dr. Oscar Kienzle, Stefan Mittmann, Dr. Dieter Otten and Dr. Thomas Thaufelder.
Legal Advisors : VAP Law Office, Vicky Athanassoglou, Athens | Athens Law, Dr. Alkibiades Pappas, Athens | Spiliakos & Kotsopoulos, Frankfurt/Athens
Financial Advisors : Value, Manolis Psikarakis, Siteia; | Daidalos Investment, Frankfurt/M.
Technical Advisors : CCO Services GmbH, Dr. Thomas Thaufelder. Cologne | Infratec Consultants, Christos P. Ghikas, Athens
VICKY ATHANASSOGLOU
AXEL GROßKREUTZ
OSCAR KIENZLE
STEFAN MITTMANN
DIETER OTTEN
THOMAS THAUFELDER
Contact
SPPL EPE
EVIR RE
EVIR RE GmbH & Co KG
Georg-Wimmer-Ring 8
D 85604 Zorneding
Phone: +49 8106 2359 9322
Disclaimer
DISPUTE RESOLUTION
The European Commission provides a platform for online dispute resolution (OS): https://ec.europa.eu/consumers/odr.
Our email address: stefan@mittman,gr. We are not willing or obliged to participate in dispute settlement procedures before a consumer arbitration board.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is CSP?
What is the benefit?
Why Crete?
Why »HYPERION« ?
Why did the development take 14 years?
What is the fast »Fast Track« legislation in Greece?
Is HYPERION ready to build?
Who owns the project?
Which Licenses and Contracts are present?
What is the Feed-In Tariff for HYPERION 1?
Answer: According to Law 4468/2016 and the CFST contract concluded between SPPL and the Greek renewable energy operator DAPEEP, Hyperion 1 receives a fixed feed-in tariff. It amounts to 268 € per MWh. The tariff is valid for 25 years if the project is built by 2025.
Who is your contact person?
Answer: Mr. Stefan Mittmann, General Manager of SPPL, stefan@mittmann.gr The postal address is 4 Leoforos Piskokefalou | 72853 Siteia - Crete
Answer: CSP technologies use mirrors to reflect and concentrate sunlight onto a receiver. The energy from the concentrated sunlight heats a high temperature fluid in the receiver. This heat - also known as thermal energy – is used to spin a turbine or power an engine to generate electricity. One of the biggest advantages of CSP is to cheaply store the thermal energy in molten salt tanks. This enables a CSP plant to supply.
Answer: CSP, extended is an important contributor to energy security in the age of transition from fossil to renewable energy. Very important is the following aspect: CSP is the CO2-free alternative to nuclear power generation and it’s problems such as the final disposal of nuclear waste. On the contrary, CSP has no long-term consequences, can be used for a long time (50 years and more), and after amortization leads to drastic reduction of energy costs.
Answer: CSP power plants require a lot of land with a particularly high solar radiation, which is not found everywhere on earth. It should exceed 1900 kWh per year and square meter. In Europe, only a few regions in the south of Spain, on Sicily and especially on Crete are suitable. In the east of the island, in the region of Siteia, there are areas for it. In addition, Crete urgently needs more and even more renewable energy. Three good reasons for CSP power plants on Crete.
Answer: »Hyperion« means »the one that goes above« or simply »the god above«. In Greek mythology Hyperion was one of the twelve Titans, i.e. the children of Gaia (Mother Earth ) and Uranus (Father Sky). With his sister, the Titaness Theia, Hyperion fathered Helios (the Sun ), Selene (the Moon) and Eos (the Dawn). As such he was considered the supreme God of the Light. A good name for a CSP plant.
Answer: Indeed, the development of the HYPERION 1 project lasted 14 years. This is an unusually long time even for an infrastructure project of this size. The main reason for this is the large amount of time we lost due to a legal dispute over the validity of the environmental permit. This process lasted 4 years and stopped the progress ! From a legal point of view, it could be settled quickly, because the HYPERION project is in the Fast Track of Greece, which includes a shortcut of the legal process.
Answer: In 2012 at the height of the Greek crisis, the Greek government passed the law 4072/2012 to accelerate government approval procedures for large investment projects of strategic importance to the country (»Accele-ration and Transparency of Implementation of Strategic Investments«, named »Fast Track Law«). Included in this fast track in 2012 were projects an investment only above €200 million (now €100 million) and approved by the Greek Interministerial Committee of Strategic Investments. Privileges of the selected projects include processing of all applications for licenses through a One Stop Shop, approval within 3 months, and the provision that appeals against the licenses can only be filed in the last instance.
Answer: Yes. The owner company of the HYPERION 1 project, the SPPL EPE is in possession of all licenses and all contracts to start construction in 2023. Among them are in particular the contracts to connect the power plant to the high voltage grid and to sell the green electricity to the competent authority of Greece.
Answer: The owner of the project is the special purpose company Solar Power Plant Lassithi MEPE, a one person limited liability company. Its registered office is in Siteia, Crete. The managing director is Dr. Dieter Otten. General Manager is Stefan Mittmann. The company has been a member of the Fast Track since 2012. The sole owner of the project company is the limited partnership EVIR RE GmbH & Co KG. The owner's registered office is in Zorneding, Germany.
Answer: All licenses and contracts for the construction of the project.
(1). The land acquisition through the Memorandum of Agreement (2008).
(2). The production license of the regulatory authority RAE (2011).
(3) The admissions to the Fast Track (2012).
(4) The Environmental Impact Approval (2014).
(5) The Installation License (valid until 2023).
(6) The grid connection agreement for the high voltage grid (valid until 2023).
(7) The power purchase agreement with the tariff of 268 € / MWh (2022).