Greece, Next RES auction expected before August

Greek Ministry of Energy is looking to stage the first RES auction with a new support mechanism before the start of August and is currently preparing for the adoption of regulations needed to stage the auction.

The regulation includes details on total annual capacity to be auctioned, number of auctions per year, their scheduling, starting prices, minimal levels of bidding competition required, as well as the level of maturity projects must have achieved to be considered eligible for auction participation.

Following the adoption of this regulation, Greek Regulatory Authority for Energy (RAE) is expected to announce the date for the new RES auction, at which the quotas od 1,000 MW in wind and solar projects will be offered to potential investors.

Energy Minister Kostas Skrekas said earlier that the Ministry is planning to stage another RES auction under the new support mechanism by the end of 2022. However, with the first such auction expected in late July, it remains to be seen whether there will be enough time to scheduled another by the end of the year.

The new support mechanism will include different starting prices for wind and solar projects as installation costs for the two technologies differ. It will also include special auctions for small-scale solar and wind projects (below 1 MW and 6 MW respectively), as well as joint auctions for wind and solar facilities equipped with energy storage systems.