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Solar power in Greece

Solar insolation in Greece
Polycrystalline solar panels in Lixouri

Solar power in Greece has been driven by a combination of government incentives and equipment cost reductions. The installation boom started in the late 2000s with feed-in tariffs has evolved into a market featuring auctions, power purchase agreements, and self-generation.[1] The country's relatively high level of solar insolation is an advantage boosting the effectiveness of solar panels; within Europe, Greece receives 50% more solar irradiation than Germany.[2]

In 2022, solar power accounted for 12.6% of total electricity generation in Greece, up from 0.3% in 2010 and less than 0.1% in 2000.[3] The national government's 2023 National Energy & Climate Plan anticipates solar PV capacity rising from 4.8 GW in 2022 to 14.1 GW in 2030, and 34.5 GW in 2050.[4]

History

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Broad development of solar power in Greece started in the 2000s, with installations of photovoltaic systems skyrocketing from 2009 because of the appealing feed-in tariffs introduced and the corresponding regulations for domestic applications of rooftop solar PV. However, funding the FITs created an unacceptable deficit of more than €500 million in the Greek "Operator of Electricity Market" RES fund. To reduce that deficit, new regulations were introduced in August 2012 including retrospective feed-in tariffs reduction,[5] with further reductions over time.[6] These measures enabled the deficit to be erased by 2017.[7]

Auctions have replaced FITs and after stagnating since 2013, as of 2019 Greece was again installing hundreds of MWp per year.[7]

By April 2015, the total installed photovoltaic capacity in Greece had reached 2,442.6 MWp from which 350.5 MWp were installed on rooftops and the rest were ground mounted.[8] Greece ranks 5th worldwide with regard to per capita installed PV capacity.[7]

Future developments

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Two new photovoltaic parks are currently (August 2024) under construction in Western Macedonia with a total capacity of 1,000MW.[9] This new energy project is carried out by Greece's Public Power Corporation in a joint venture with RWE Renewables Europe & Australia.[9] Both of these parks are expected to commence operations in 2025. In addition, a new photovoltaic park in Thessaly of a total capacity of 390MW is under design (as of August 2024)[10]

Installed capacity

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Main articles: Solar power in the European Union and Growth of photovoltaics
Greek solar power development[11][12][13][3]
Year Capacity
(MW) 		Watts
per capita 		Electricity
generation %
2010 205 18 0.3%
2020 3,287 304 9.2%
2023 6,453 620 19.0%

List of power stations

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Current

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Greece's largest photovoltaic (PV) power plants[14][15]
Location Capacity Description Constructed
Kozani 204 MW Park of Kozani[16] 2022
Naoussa 7+7 MW Photovoltaic plants cluster 2013
Florina 4.3 MW Florina industrial zone 2009
Volos 2 MW Photovoltaic power plant Volos 2009
Thebes 2 MW Photovoltaic power plant Thebes 2009
Koutsopodi 1.997 MW 2009
Tripoli 1.99 MW 2009
Pournari 1.25 MW 2009
Iliopenditiki 1 MW 2009
Pontoiraklia 944 kW 2009
Kythnos 100 kW 2009
Sifnos 60 kW 1998
Tavros, ILPAP Building 20 kW 2009
Ethel Station 20 kW 2009
Maroussi, Eirini metro station 20 kW 2009

Future

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Greece's largest photovoltaic (PV) power plants[15][17][10][9]
Location Capacity Description Constructed
Ptolemaida 550MW Lignite Centre of Western Macedonia To commence operation in 2025
Amyntaio 450MW Western Macedonia To commence operation in 2025
Thessaly 390MW Park of Argyromylos -
Megalopoli 50 MW Park of Megalopoli -
Crete 0.48 MW Park of Atherinolakos -

See also

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References

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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Solar power in Greece.
  1. ^ Nick Hedley (2024-02-14). "How Greece became a solar leader". The Progress Playbook. Retrieved 2024-03-30.
  2. ^ Alexia Kalaitzi (2024-02-19). "Energy democracy takes off in Greece". Deutsche Welle. Retrieved 2024-03-30.
  3. ^ a b "Share of electricity production from solar - Greece". Our World in Data. 2023. Retrieved 2023-06-25.
  4. ^ Anu Bhambhani (2023-01-20). "Greece Targets 34.5 GW Total PV Capacity By 2050". TaiyangNews. Retrieved 2023-06-25.
  5. ^ New feed‐in‐tariffs for PV in Greece (Feb 2012)
  6. ^ HELAPCO: The Greek PV Market
  7. ^ a b c "Greek PV Market Investment Opportunities" (PDF). HELAPCO. Retrieved 18 October 2019.
  8. ^ LAGIE: DAS Monthly Reports
  9. ^ a b c Ξυπνητού, Μαρίνα (2024-06-21). "Δύο μεγάλα φωτοβολταϊκά πάρκα ισχύος 1 GW στη Δυτική Μακεδονία από τη ΔΕΗ". Ypodomes.com (in Greek). Retrieved 2024-08-18.
  10. ^ a b Ξυπνητού, Μαρίνα (2024-08-16). "Σε τροχιά υλοποίησης νέο φωτοβολταϊκό πάρκο 390 MW στη Θεσσαλία". Ypodomes.com (in Greek). Retrieved 2024-08-18.
  11. ^ "Photovoltaic Barometer 2011". EurObserv’ER. 2010-11-28. p. 7/22. Retrieved 2023-06-25.
  12. ^ "Photovoltaic Barometer 2022". EurObserv’ER. 2022-04-28. p. 2/6. Retrieved 2023-06-25.
  13. ^ "Photovoltaic Barometer 2024". EurObserv’ER. 2024-04-30. p. 2/7. Retrieved 2024-08-03.
  14. ^ Large-scale photovoltaic power plants located in Greece Archived 2010-01-04 at the Wayback Machine
  15. ^ a b PPC Renewables Photovoltaic Parks Archived 2011-07-21 at the Wayback Machine
  16. ^ "Hellenic Petroleum brings live 204-MW solar park in Greece". List.Solar. Retrieved 2022-04-08.
  17. ^ PPC to develop a large photovoltaic project in Kozani Archived 2012-03-12 at the Wayback Machine