UPDATE 1 — Power utility PPC teams up with Amazon to develop data center in Greece

(Adds details throughout) ATHENS, Sept 17 (Reuters) — Greece's biggest power utility Public Power Corporation SA (PPC) said on Thursday that it has teamed up with Amazon to build a data center in the country. PPC has signed a mutual principle agreement with Amazon Web Services (AWS), the company's cloud computing unit, to develop the data center in Western Macedonia. PPC will provide the site, buildings and the supporting energy infrastructure, while AWS will install and operate the IT infrastructure. The data center will have an initial power capacity of 300 megawatts, with both companies potentially scaling it up to 1 gigawatt, subject to mutual agreement and market conditions. Amazon will lease the data center for 15 years once construction is completed. PPC said last year the €2.3 billion ($2.64 billion) investment would be among the largest in Europe and will create significant employment opportunities in Western Macedonia. ($1 = 0.8712 euros) (Reporting by Angeliki Koutantou and Gdansk Newsroom; Editing by Sonia Cheema) ((mailto:gdansk.newsroom@thomsonreuters.com; +48 587785269;)