PPC’s strategy to establish data centers as a key driver of growth and profitability is moving forward, as outlined by Chairman and CEO Giorgos Stassis in the company’s 2026–2030 business plan. In this context, PPC (Public Power Corporation) has signed a binding Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Amazon Web Services (AWS) for the development of a Data Center in Agios Dimitrios, Western Macedonia.
Under the agreement, PPC will provide the land, facilities, and clean energy through long-term Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) sourced from renewable energy, while AWS will assume a fifteen-year lease and operate the IT infrastructure. With an initial capacity of 300 MW and an expansion pathway of up to 1 GW, the investment transforms the region into a technology and energy hub, while simultaneously advancing the Group’s digital transformation.
Full announcement details
PPC and Amazon Web Services (“AWS”) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (“MoU”) establishing the framework and key terms for the development of a Data Center in Agios Dimitrios, Western Macedonia (the “Project”).
Under the framework set out in the MoU:
1/ AWS will lease the Data Center upon completion of its construction, under a long-term 15-year lease agreement (subject to customary terms and conditions).
2/ PPC will provide the land, buildings, and supporting energy infrastructure, while AWS will install and operate the information technology (IT) infrastructure.
3/ In the initial phase, the Data Center will have a power supply capacity of 300 MW. PPC and AWS intend to explore further expansion (up to 1 GW), subject to mutual agreement, market conditions, and the execution of additional definitive agreements.
4/ AWS will purchase, and PPC will supply, energy under long-term Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) from renewable energy sources (subject to customary terms and conditions), in line with Amazon’s goal of achieving net-zero carbon emissions across all its operations by 2040.
In addition, both companies intend to explore the possibility of a multi-year collaboration in the areas of cloud technologies and artificial intelligence (AI), with the aim of supporting PPC’s digital transformation.
The MoU is binding. The Project and all commercial terms (including those described above) are subject to the negotiation and execution of definitive agreements, as well as the fulfillment of customary conditions precedent, including the completion of due diligence, securing the required grid connection, and obtaining all necessary approvals from the relevant authorities.
PPC’s pivotal role
The most ambitious growth pillar of the PPC Group centers on data centers — a strategically vital market fueled by rapidly rising demand for artificial intelligence applications.
As PPC’s CEO Giorgos Stassis has emphasized, the new business plan is not merely an investment roadmap, but a strategic blueprint for significantly boosting profitability and creating added value for shareholders.
In this context, the Group is transforming itself with a vision of a greener and smarter future, combining Renewable Energy Sources with cutting-edge digital infrastructure — to the benefit of consumers, local communities, and the national economy.
Bloomberg also featured an extensive report today on PPC’s pivotal role in shaping the future of Western Macedonia, presenting the Kozani region as one of Europe’s most compelling examples of an energy transition — from the lignite era to the age of artificial intelligence and clean energy.
Given that the company has historically represented approximately 40% of the region’s total economic output, the gradual phase-out of lignite units — most notably the Agios Dimitrios power plant, which has already ceased operations, and the upcoming termination of lignite use at Ptolemaida V by end of 2026 — made a fundamental shift in the region’s economic model not just desirable, but essential.
Against this backdrop, PPC is repurposing former mining lands and existing energy infrastructure as part of a broader investment plan totaling €5.8 billion. The centerpiece of this strategy is the development of a massive data center at Agios Dimitrios, with an initial capacity of 300 MW, a targeted completion date of 2028, and a potential expansion to 1 GW by 2031 — a project for which the company is already in advanced discussions with major international hyperscalers.
Through this transformation, Western Macedonia is being repositioned on the European map — no longer as an industrial hub built on fossil fuels, but as a model green and digital high-tech node, securing the region’s sustainable economic and social future.
Boosting the local job market
The investment’s positive impact is making a decisive mark on the local labor market and the environment, offering a meaningful prospect of renewal for Western Macedonia.
At peak construction activity, the project is expected to employ 7,500 workers, while upon completion it will create at least 2,200 permanent jobs — 1,500 of which will be dedicated exclusively to operating the data center at its full 1 GW capacity.
This development offsets the job losses from the lignite era, during which PPC currently employs 1,250 people in the region, and lays the foundation for a broader business ecosystem.
At the same time, the environmental footprint is dramatically reduced: the data center’s water consumption will represent just 0.6% of the water requirements associated with the former lignite operations.
