The European Union has approved a EUR 2.27 billion in aid to Greece, to support the renewable energy sector. This scheme will support power production from renewables and high-efficiency combined heat and power (CHP) plants and will help Greece support around 4.2 GW of installed capacity as it moves to achieve national and European environmental targets
The aid will support many different renewable energy technologies, namely onshore wind, solar PV, wind and solar PV with storage, biomass, biogas, landfill gas, hydroelectric stations, concentrated solar power (CSP) and geothermal power plants.
Competitive auctions will be conducted for awarding the funds for onshore wind and solar. All support awarded through auctions will be paid under the contract-for-difference model, the EC said.
First tender under the new regime to take place in March
The first 600 MW mixed technology tender for wind and solar is expected to be announced before the end of this year in order to take place in March. Overall, 1 GW in renewable projects is expected to be awarded next year under the new regime.
Greece will also be financing renewable projects abroad, it was already included in the previous scheme without ever being realized. In total, over 150 MW of such projects have to be included in future tenders in order to satisfy the EU. At the same time, the scheme allows foreign countries interconnected with Greece to invest in renewable projects in its territory.