A new combined cycle gas turbine (CCGT) power plant in Greece has secured €125 million (£113m) of funding from the European Investment Bank (EIB).

The new 826MW power station, located in central Greece, will allow greater use of wind and solar energy in the country and enable the phasing out of lignite power generation by 2023.

The new project drew an investment of €322 million (£293m) and claims to be the most efficient gas power plant in Greece that uses the specific CCGT technology.

Andrew McDowell, EIB Vice President, said: “EIB is supporting energy transition in Greece. As part of the EIB energy lending policy agreed in 2019, we committed to supporting a pipeline of gas projects already under appraisal, before moving to renewables-only lending from 2021.”

Evangelos Mytilineos, Chairman and CEO of Mytilineos, said: “The new long-term EIB loan, shows how the EU Bank supports transformational investment in this country.”

Lignite currently accounts for 4GW of power generation in Greece, having 22% of total capacity in the country.