Over time, Greece has had an extremely fluctuating PV market, according to data from Solar Power Europe.
The installations of photovoltaic systems started in the second half of the first decade of the new millennium reached their peak in 2013 with over 1 GW of new plants.
Subsequently, due to the economic crisis, between 2014 and 2018 there was an extremely stagnant phase where the cumulative capacity always remained around 2.5 GW given the very low installations which were only a few MW per year.
The recovery begins in 2019 with important growth prospects
Only in 2019 there was an appreciable increase with about 200 MW of new PV systems. In 2020, installations more than quadrupled compared to the previous year, reaching approximately 900 MW. The outlook for 2021 of having 1.6 GW of new plants.
Feed-in tariff for medium-sized ground plants below 500 kW
Most of the new PV plants, according to the EU-Market-Outlook-for-Solar-Power-2021-2025, are medium-sized ground mounted systems below 500 kW, a limit set by the Hellenic government for the incentive on energy injected into grid (feed-in-premium).
Last year this subsidy was extended until the end of 2022, so many investors, both local and foreign, are investing in plants of this size and it is estimated that there may be investments for 85 GW in the coming years, but also including multi-megawatt systems.
New incentives and simplified procedures for the PV and storage market
According to the studies of Solar Power Europe, the Greek government is working to further streamline the authorization process. After having facilitated the market in 2020 is expected that incentives may also arise for the storage market.
National Energy and Climate Plan provides for 63% of energy from RES by 2030
The current National Plan for Energy and Climate (NECP) plans to reach 63% of electricity from RES by 2030, estimating a cumulative capacity of 7.7 GW which can be increased to 10 GW this year, according to forecasts.
Large PV systems with no incentives
Large plants without incentives will be able to enter into the wholesale energy market, but also sign PPA (Power Purchase Agrement) agreements, new solutions for the Greek market that will further move the market.
Ability of the grid to connect power from renewable sources
In Greece, given the territorial conformation and the subdivision into various islands, as for many other states in Europe, it will have to deal with the lack of capacity of the grid to receive power from renewable sources, both in medium and high voltage.
For this reason, some investors, at the expense of substantial investments, are designing systems connected directly in very high voltage.
Finally, according to the expectations of Solar Power Europe, the Greek government will introduce incentives to develop the self-consumption market, both residential and commercial.
