The total capacity of wind farms that will compete for long-term power purchase agreements at the RES auction scheduled for 27 July is more than sufficient for awarding the contracts for the planned 481.5 MW, said Greek Regulatory Authority for Energy (RAE).
The rule requires the volume to be oversubscribed by 40 % and 25 wind projects with total capacity of 748,4 MW applied for the category of up to 50 MW.
The other segment, solar power plants of up to 20 MW, saw much less interest, with 52 projects totaling 199.4 MW, compared to the limit set at 482 MW. This means that a large portion of solar power capacity will remain unallocated and transferred to the next auction. The ceiling prices are set to 62.99 euros/MWh for wind power and 63 euros/MWh for solar.
The July RES auction should be the last under the old rules. The companies are currently required to have licenses for electricity generation and connection to the network, while the system is switching to digital certificates.
The previous RES auction held on 2 April produced a record-low bid of 49.11 euros/MWh, submitted by PPC Renewables for a 200 MW solar power plant in Kozani in northern Greece. A total of five major RES projects, four solar power plants and one wind farm, secured tariffs at the auction. The auction’s average bidding price was 51.59 euros/MWh, which is significantly lower compared to previous auctions. The auction’s only wind energy project, ENTEKA’s 153 MW facility in Vermio in northern Greece, recorded the lowest price so far for wind power of 54.7 euros/MWh. A total of four projects, two solar and two wind, failed to secure prices at the previous auction.