Greece Energy Situation
Capital:
Athens
Region:
Coordinates:
37.58° N, 23.43° E
Total Area (km²): It includes a country's total area, including areas under inland bodies of water and some coastal waterways.
131,960
Population: It is based on the de facto definition of population, which counts all residents regardless of legal status or citizenship--except for refugees not permanently settled in the country of asylum, who are generally considered part of the population of their country of origin.
10,361,295 (2023)
Rural Population (% of total population): It refers to people living in rural areas as defined by national statistical offices. It is calculated as the difference between total population and urban population.
19 (2023)
GDP (current US$): It is the sum of gross value added by all resident producers in the economy plus any product taxes and minus any subsidies not included in the value of the products. It is calculated without making deductions for depreciation of fabricated assets or for depletion and degradation of natural resources.
238,206,312,633 (2023)
GDP Per Capita (current US$): It is gross domestic product divided by midyear population
22,990.01 (2023)
Access to Electricity (% of population): It is the percentage of population with access to electricity.
100.00 (2022)
Energy Imports Net (% of energy use): It is estimated as energy use less production, both measured in oil equivalents. A negative value indicates that the country is a net exporter. Energy use refers to use of primary energy before transformation to other end-use fuels, which is equal to indigenous production plus imports and stock changes, minus exports and fuels supplied to ships and aircraft engaged in international transport.
64.18 (2015)
Fossil Fuel Energy Consumption (% of total): It comprises coal, oil, petroleum, and natural gas products.
82.57 (2015)
Introduction
The Greek energy sector is still largely dependent on fossil fuels, most of which are imported. About 54% of its energy requirements are covered by petroleum products alone, compared to an average of 33.4% at the EU level. These petroleum products are not only used in the transport sector, but they are also converted in relevant amounts into electricity. In particular, the non-interconnected Greek islands obtain their electricity primarily from inefficient and expensive diesel generators. In total, the extra cost that has to be recovered in 2016 through a public service obligation is estimated at 720 m€ to subsidise the electricity tariffs in those areas. Natural gas, which also has to be imported at a significant cost, plays a growing role in meeting energy requirements.
Domestic energy sources include lignite which accounts for around 50% of electricity generation as well as renewable energy sources (RES) such as hydro-power, wind, solar energy and biomass. Almost 61% of Greece’s primary energy needs are fulfilled through imports with the remaining 39% being covered through domestic energy sources, mainly lignite (77%) and RES (22%). Imported energy sources are mainly petroleum products that account for 44% of total energy consumption and natural gas with a share of around 13%.
A national target of a 20% RES share in gross final energy consumption by 2020 has been defined under Law 3851/2010, exceeding the national target of 18% according to the EU Directive 2009/28/EC. The specific trajectory for achieving this target is presented in the National Renewable Energy Action Plan (NREAP) of 2010. Specific targets for RES electricity share (40%), RES heating and cooling share (20%), and RES transport share (10%) have been defined in order to achieve the national RES target until 2020. The overall target is therefore supposed to be achieved through a combination of measures for energy efficiency and the large-scale penetration of RES technologies in electricity production, heat supply and transport sector.
According to the third progress report on the promotion and use of energy from renewable sources in Greece which was submitted under Article 22 of Directive 2009/28/EC to the European Commission in April 2016, the latest figures for the share of RES in gross final energy consumption indicate that Greece is on track for reaching its national RES targets for 2020. This is mainly due to the over-achievement of the sub-target related to heating and cooling, resulting mainly from an increasing use of biomass for heating, in particular on the level of the residential sector.
Specifically, in the last five years, a significant increase in the use of biomass has been observed due to the final consumers’ shift to biomass as a cheaper fuel to meet their heating needs and the consequences of the economic recession in the households’ income. Moreover, solar thermal systems have steadily attained an important position in RES applications for domestic hot water production, while the penetration of heat pumps for space heating has exhibited a significant growth rate in the last two years leading to an increase of 65% in 2014 compared with 2012.
The penetration of RES for heating already stands at 25.9% in 2015 surpassing even the corresponding indicative target of 20% until 2020, as defined by the NREAP. The utilization of RES for heating purposes increased by 15% between 2012 and 2015. Nevertheless, the target for RES in transport is still far from being achieved. Regarding the penetration of RES in gross final electricity consumption, a significant increase has undoubtedly been observed (34% between 2012 and 2014). Although the total installed capacity surpassed the installed capacity projected in NREAP in 2013, a deceleration was observed in 2014, while the RES electricity mix differed significantly from the NREAP projections with the main share in the RES installed capacity being attained by photovoltaic stations instead of wind farms. In 2015, a total RES share of 15.44% was achieved. The contribution of RES to the gross final electricity consumption accounted for 22.09%, compared to a projection of 27.6% in the NREAP.
The variables and assumptions which have been used for the elaboration of the NREAP are currently being revised in the context of the national energy planning, taking into consideration the lower than expected levels of energy consumption due to the economic crisis and the adjusted macroeconomic values, as well as the differences between the NREAP projections and the actual development and share of the different RES technologies in terms of installed capacities and electricity generation.
A number of significant reforms aiming at a further liberalization of the electricity and gas sector, the reform of the various energy markets, as well as with a number of strategic grid infrastructure works are currently being implemented. In addition, the Greek support scheme for electricity production from RES is currently undergoing a major transition in order to improve the cost-efficiency of the support scheme, to facilitate the integration of RES in electricity market and to ensure conformity with requirements under EU state aid regulations.
Energy Supply
Primary Energy
Around 61% of Greece’s energy needs are covered through imports with the remaining 39% being covered through national energy sources, mainly lignite (77%) and RES (22%). Imported energy sources are mainly petroleum products that account for 44% of total energy consumption and natural gas with a share of around 13%.
Electricity Generation
According to the Greek Electricity Market Operator (LAGIE), the total installed capacity in the Greek interconnected system at the end of 2016 accounted for almost 16,615 MW, including 3,912 MW lignite, 4,658 MW natural gas, 3,173 MW large hydro-power and 4,873 MW RES. The total electricity generation in the Greek interconnected system for the year 2016 amounted to almost 41.6 TWh. An additional 10.7 TWh of electricity was imported and 2.2 TWh were exported. Lignite accounted for 23.55% of the installed capacity in the interconnected system, natural gas for 28.4%, hydro-power for 19.10% and RES for 29.33%.
According to the Hellenic Electricity Distribution Network Operator (HEDNO), on the non-interconnected islands (NIIs), the diesel-driven generators’ production was 3,604 GWh by December 2016. The renewable energy share in the electricity mix of the NII was 21.8%, corresponding to a production of 1,003 GWh and an installed capacity of 482.3 MW.
Energy Consumption
Electricity
Gross national electricity consumption in 2016 was roughly 50.1 TWh, including transmission and distribution losses of about 2.9%. The annual peak load in the interconnected system currently stands at around 9,082 MW.
The average cost of RES electricity production in 2016 accounted for 161.5 €/MWh compared to the value of 162.7 €/MWh in 2015 and it was down from 200 €/MWh in 2014. This has been mainly due to the adjustment of feed-in tariffs (FIT) in April 2014 that have been implemented in the context of Law 4254/2014. The RES cost compares to an average electricity system marginal price (SMP) of 42.83 €/MWh in 2016 (51.94 €/MWh in 2015). The highest value has been recorded in December 2016 at the figure of 51.09 €/MWh. As reported by Eurostat, electricity tariffs in 2016 for final consumers in Greece were on average 176 €/MWh for medium-size households (including taxes and levies) and 92 €/MWh for medium-size industrial companies (including levies but excluding taxes).
Market Situation for Renewable Energies
Solar Energy
Solar energy is playing an increasingly important part in the energy mix of Greece. The country has high levels of solar irradiation with an average global horizontal irradiation level of more than 1,500 kWh/m2 . With around 4.1 million m2 (2.9 GWth) of solar thermal systems installed, Greece has the second largest total capacity in Europe after Germany. It also has the third largest per capita ratio of installed collector surface after Cyprus and Austria. Around 243 000 m² (170.1 MWth) of solar thermal systems have been installed in 2012. The Greek market mostly consists of individual solar water heaters of the thermosiphon type. There is still a significant potential for larger solar thermal systems in the tertiary sector and in industry.
There has only been a marginal increase of 1 MW in the installed solar PV capacity in 2016 compared to the figures at the end of 2015. The total installed solar PV capacity by the end of 2016 accounted for 2,605 MWp, out of which 375 MW of small PV systems below 10 kWp have been installed under the Special Photovoltaic Rooftop Programme. Only 6.1% of the total PV capacity is installed on the non-interconnected islands (NIIs). In addition to this, until the end of January 2017, a total of 494 net-metering PV systems with a total capacity of around 6.6 MWp have been installed and are in operation. During the year 2016, a total of 3,417 GWh was produced by solar PV which thus became the third most important RES in terms of generation (after large hydro-power and wind power), producing 25.4% of RES electricity and 6% of total electricity in Greece. A total of 512 GWh was produced by PV systems on rooftops which have been installed under the Special Photovoltaic Rooftop Programme.
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Wind Energy
Greece has some of the most attractive sites for the use of wind energy in Europe, with average capacity factors of around 25% for the mainland and 30% for the islands. The economic wind energy potential in Greece is estimated at 10,000-12,000 MW.
The national capacity target for wind energy is 7,500 MW until 2020, including 300 MW of offshore wind energy. The installed capacity for wind energy has increased by 279 MW or almost 13.3% in 2016 compared to the figures at the end of 2015, making 2016 the second best year for the Greek wind energy sector in terms of new installations. In particular, a total capacity of 2,370 MW of wind parks was installed in Greece by December 2016 compared to 2,091 MW installed by the end of 2015. Of this, a total capacity of 323 MW of wind turbines has been installed on the NIIs, out of which almost 62% on Crete. The electricity generation from wind energy during 2016 was of 5,145 GWh, compared to 4,621 GWh by December 2015. In 2016, wind energy took the second place among RES in terms of total electricity generation, accounting for 38.3% of RES electricity and 9% of total electricity generation in Greece.
Small hydro-power
By December 2015, there has been an installed capacity of 224 MW of small hydro-power (SHP) plants in Greece. By definition, these are hydro-power stations with a capacity less than 15 MW. As all SHP plants are of the run-of-river type, most of their generation takes place during the wet season (winter and spring). There are 105 SHP projects in operation, mostly located in Epirus, Macedonia and Peloponnese. Only one SHP plant with a capacity of 300 kW is installed on the non-interconnected islands. SHP plants produced a total of 707 GWh in 2015, compared to 701 GWh in 2014. SHP plants generated around 7.5% of RES electricity and 1.3% of total electricity in Greece during the year 2015.
As in the case of wind energy, this is also due to the reductions of the FIT for existing SHP plants by around 3% as well as of the FIT for new SHP plants by 3-9% in the context of Law 4254/2014. SHP as well as biomass and biogas with CHP are the only RES technologies for electricity generation which are still eligible for receiving support under the new investment law of June 2016.
Biomass
There are only few biomass energy projects for electricity generation that have been developed in Greece, mainly for the utilization of municipal wastes in biogas plants. The total installed capacity of biomass energy currently stands at 52 MW for a total of 12 individual projects. During the year 2015, biomass capacities of 5 MW have been added. There are no biomass projects installed on the non-interconnected islands. Throughout 2015, a total of 222 GWh of electricity was produced by biomass energy plants. The FIT for biomass energy projects have been differentiated according to the technology (biomass combustion, biogas, gas from landfills and sewage treatment plants).
Other renewable energy sources
Other RES technologies for electricity generation have not been extensively developed so far. There is a significant potential for the utilization of geothermal energy for electricity generation, especially on some of the Aegean islands (e.g. Milos, Lesvos, Kimolos) and the North-Eastern part of the mainland. The national target for geothermal electricity is 120 MW until 2020.
For the case of concentrated solar power, the national target for 2020 is 250 MW and there are some sites with yearly direct irradiation levels over 2,000 kWh/m2 observed on the Southern Greek islands that could be interesting for CSP installations. Several projects with a combined capacity of 424 MW are currently under development at different stages of the licensing process but not a single one is expected to be put into operation in the near future, while two of them have been approved for support under the NER300 programme.
Other technologies with an interesting technical potential (e.g. ocean energy) have not been developed yet due to their high investment and electricity generation costs as well as the absence of comprehensive resource potential studies.
Policy Framework, Laws and Regulations
General Energy Policy, Energy Strategy [1]
The priority and top objective of Greek energy policy is to safeguard and manage energy resources in a manner which secures the smooth, uninterrupted and reliable supply of the nation’s energy needs and access for all users to affordable, secure energy. The second objective is to secure energy stocks, through alliances and alternatives energy sources and routes in order to ensure the supply of the domestic market and protect consumers in the case of emergencies. The third objective is the viable and sustainable development of the energy sector from the stage of production to the end-use while protecting nature and safeguarding the environment.
The strategy to ensure supply needs and address energy issues in Greece is shaped by the regulatory and legal framework which focuses today on the following general axis:
- Access to a wide variety of energy sources
- Construction of oil and natural gas pipelines within international networks
- Increased use of domestic energy sources and stocks
- Reduced dependence on certain high risk energy sources
- Development of RES installations with the granting of incentives
- Use and diffusion of clean and efficient environment friendly technologies
- Liberalization of the market, increased competitiveness and putting an end to monopolies in the electricity and natural gas sectors.
- Establishment of a healthy investment climate for businesses in the energy sector
- Energy savings for industry, transport, buildings and homes
- Establishment of national targets for the increased penetration of energy generated from RES, the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and energy saving.
Important Laws and Regulations
Renewable Energy Laws[2]
The support mechanism for electricity generation from RES in Greece until the end of 2015 has been based mainly on Law 3468/2006 and Law 3851/2010. According to these laws, priority is given for the injection of electricity from RES into the electricity grid. The electricity produced has been remunerated by a technology-specific feed-in tariff (FIT). These FIT were further differentiated according to the size of the RES installation with smaller systems benefitting from higher FIT. Payment of the FIT was guaranteed for a period of 20 years (25 years for small PV systems and solar thermal power plants) in the context of a sales contract (Power Purchase Agreement – PPA). Regular degression rates are only applied to FIT for photovoltaic energy systems of the special programme for rooftops, while the rest of photovoltaic installations are been supported by a type of a fixed coefficient on the basis of last year’s average SMP.
Apart from photovoltaic energy, the FIT for new RES projects until the end of 2015 have been defined by Law 4253/2014. The FIT were fixed at the time of commissioning and differentiated between projects supported under the investment law (or any other support programme) and projects without any kind of additional support. Moreover, Law 4253/2014 provided for an annual cap of 200 MW for new photovoltaic projects and cumulative caps until 2020 for biomass (40 MW), biogas (50 MW), concentrated solar power plants (100 MW) and low enthalpy geothermal projects (50 MW).
Reform of the RES support scheme
With rising shares of RES in the national electricity mix, there is a need for a gradual integration of RES generation into the electricity market. Moreover, at European level, the European Commission has adopted new Guidelines on State aid for environmental protection and energy for the period 2014-2020 (EEAG) in April 2014. According to these guidelines, operating aid for RES should be“granted as a premium in addition to the market price (premium) whereby the generators sell its electricity directly in the market” (margin number 124 (a)). This obligation for the participation of RES generators in the electricity market and their complementary remuneration under a feed-in premium (FIP) scheme applies to all new RES installations above certain capacity limits from 1 January 2016.
FIP provide an incentive for RES generators to respond to price signals of the electricity market, i.e. to produce electricity when demand is high and/or production from other energy sources is low. They also encourage RES investors to consider expected load patterns in the engineering and operation of the RES project (e.g. choice of site and turbine type for wind parks, orientation of PV modules), if this is linked with a properly formed technology-specific Reference Market Price. FIP therefore contribute to an increased integration of RES into the electricity market, resulting in a more efficient combination of supply with demand.
According to Law 4414/2016 on the “New Support Scheme for Renewable Energy Power Plants and High Efficiency Combined Heat and Power Plants (CHP)” which was published in August 2016 by the Ministry for Environment and Energy (YPEN), new RES and CHP plants (i.e. those that have not signed a PPA until 31 December 2015) are required to participate in the electricity market. On top of their revenues from the electricity market, they are entitled to receive a FIP that varies according to the evolution of market prices (“sliding FIP”). The FIP is calculated as the difference between technology- and capacity-specific Reference Tariffs and a technology-specific Reference Market Price that is calculated on a monthly basis. Wind farms with an installed capacity below 3 MW and other RES and CHP plants with an installed capacity below 500 kW are not required to participate in the electricity market and can continue to receive remuneration in the form of a FIT. The same applies to new RES projects that are installed on the non-interconnected islands as long as there are no fully functional electricity markets on these islands. The new law foresees transitory provisions for different cases of RES projects and market structures. It also foresees transitory mechanisms such as a management premium and a forecasting accuracy mechanism that will be in place until the reform of the Greek electricity market has been completed.
Law 4414/2016 also foresees the organisation of a pilot tender for new photovoltaic projects during the second semester of 2016, with specific ceiling prices for two different categories of PV projects and minimum criteria for participation. In more details, the remuneration levels for all photovoltaic projects above 500 kW will be defined in the context of tenders. According to the new RES law at the end of June 2016, a pilot tender for 40 MW of new photovoltaic projects is supposed to be organised during the second semester of 2016. This tender will consist of two different lots for photovoltaic projects with a capacity below one MWp and projects with a capacity above one MWp. A maximum bid size of 10 MW is foreseen. In addition, there will be a price ceiling for the bids which has been tentatively fixed at 94 €/MWh for projects above one MWp and 104 €/MWh for projects below one MWp.
Photovoltaic installations with a capacity below 10 kWp that are included in the Special Roof-top Photovoltaic Programme will continue to be remunerated in line with the provisions of this programme. Other photovoltaic installation with a capacity below 500 kWp will be remunerated in line with the provisions of Law 3734/2009 as applicable with the exception of installations that (voluntarily) participate in tenders.
Reference Tariffs for the compensation of RES electricity generation plants
Reference tariffs (or “strike prices”) reflect the overall average remuneration which is required by RES generators and are expressed in Euros/MWh. The same reference tariff should be applied throughout the entire duration of the period during which a given RES project is entitled for support (e.g. 20 years). The reference tariffs are determined by capacity categories for the different RES technologies. RES projects are entitled to the reference tariff that is active at the time of commissioning of the project[1]. For RES projects that fall under the FIT scheme, the reference tariff is equal to the FIT. For RES projects under the FIP, an average monthly market reference price is deducted from the reference tariff in order to arrive at the FIP that is being paid to RES generators.
The Reference Tariffs (RTs), on the basis of which the Operating Aid is calculated monthly, in the form of Differential Premium or Fixed Price compensation, for power generated by RES electricity generation plants, is defined per plant category and technology and are illustrated in the following table;
|
RES technology/capacity category |
RT (€/MWh) |
|---|---|
|
Wind installations in the interconnected system |
98 |
|
Wind installations on the non-interconnected islands |
98 |
|
Small Hydro ≤ 3 ΜW |
100 |
|
3 ΜW < Small Hydro ≤ 15 ΜW |
97 |
|
Solid Biomass (or bio-liquids) exploited through thermal processes except gasification, from stations with installed capacity ≤1MW (excluding the biodegradable fraction of municipal waste) |
184 |
|
Solid Biomass (or bio-liquids) exploited via gasification process from stations with installed capacity ≤1MW (excluding the biodegradable fraction of municipal waste) |
193 |
| Solid Biomass (or bio-liquids) exploited through thermal processes from stations with installed capacity 1ΜW
5ΜW (excluding the biodegradable fraction of municipal waste) |
140 |
|
Gas from landfills and biological sewage treatment plants and biogas from anaerobic digestion of biodegradable material of wastewater and sewage sludge ≤ 2 MW |
129 |
|
Gas from landfills and biological sewage treatment plants and biogas from anaerobic digestion of biodegradable material of wastewater and sewage sludge > 2 MW |
106 |
|
Biogas from anaerobic digestion of biomass≤ 3 MW |
225 |
|
Biogas from anaerobic digestion of biomass> 3 MW |
204 |
|
Solar thermal stations without storage |
257 |
|
Solar thermal stations with storage (min 2 hours) |
278 |
|
Geothermal stations ≤ 5 MW |
139 |
|
Geothermal stations > 5 MW |
108 |
|
Other RES (including energy recovery plants utilizing the fraction of the biodegradable municipal waste falling outside another category of the table that meet the requirements of the current European legislation) |
90 |
The remuneration for photovoltaic plants is shown in the following table;
Type of photovoltaic system |
Feed-in tariff (2016) |
|
P<10 kWp (Special PV Roofs Programme) |
110 €/MWh |
|
P<=100 kWp (Interconnected system) |
62.33 €/MWh |
|
P =100-500 kWp (Interconnected system) |
57.13 €/MWh |
|
Non-interconnected system |
57.13 €/MWh |
[1] The reference tariffs should be adjusted on an annual basis and could be guaranteed for the year n+2 and n+3 for some RES technologies (i.e. wind and small hydro-power plants).
Net-metering scheme
In parallel to the FIT scheme, a national net-metering scheme for self-produced electricity from photovoltaic energy has been adopted by Ministerial Decree ΑΠΕΗΛ/Α/Φ1/οικ. 24461 on the 31st of December 2014. Under the net-metering scheme, electricity consumers have the possibility to produce their own electricity with photovoltaic systems concerning both, rooftop and ground-mounted systems, to inject any surplus electricity production into the electricity grid and to offset this surplus electricity with future electricity consumption, in this way reducing their electricity bill. The scheme is being managed by the Hellenic Electricity Distribution Network Operator S.A. (HEDNO/DEDDIE) and the procedure for submitting applications for the connection of photovoltaic net-metering systems started in May 2015 for connections at the low voltage level and in October 2015 for connections at the medium-voltage level. There are currently plans for allowing “aggregate net-metering”, i.e. the combination of different electricity meters with one RES installation, for specific electricity consumers such as public authorities and farmers.
According to the Ministerial Decree, photovoltaic systems of up to 20 kWp (up to 10 kWp for the non-interconnected islands except Crete) or up to 50% of the agreed power consumption (100% for public-benefit organisations) with a maximum of 500 kWp (50 kWp for Crete and 20 kWp for the other non-interconnected islands) are eligible for the scheme. HEDNO commenced accepting net-metering applications for photovoltaic systems to connect to the low voltage grid in May 2015 and a second round of applications for PV systems to connect directly to the medium voltage grid started in October 2015. According to HEDNO, it accepted 433 applications corresponding to a cumulative 8.16 MW of PV capacity by January 2016. Of these, 359 concern residential, commercial and industrial rooftop systems, whereas the rest of them involve ground-mounted systems.
Licensing procedures for renewable energy projects
The licensing procedure for RES projects has been significantly simplified in 2010. Larger RES projects require a production license (issued by RAE), an installation license (issued by YPEN or by local authorities) and an operation license (issued by YPEN or by local authorities). Small and medium sized RES projects (PV and biomass plants ≤ 1 MW, geothermal stations ≤ 500 kW, wind parks ≤ 100 kW) do not require the above licenses. In addition, other licenses (water use, building permit, use of forest land…) as well as an Approval of Environment Terms (AET) or Standard Environmental Commitments (SEC) are required according to the nature of the project. All RES projects have to submit applications for non-binding and binding connection offers to the competent network operator (IPTO or HEDNO). They are also required to sign a connection contract with the competent network operator (IPTO or HEDNO) as well as a PPA with LAGIE (or HEDNO for the non-interconnected islands).
The sustainability of the RES financing mechanism
FIT are paid to RES producers through the RES Special Account which is managed by the Electricity Market Operator (LAGIE). The revenues of this account currently include the following:
- Revenues of LAGIE from the sale of RES electricity on the wholesale market at the system marginal price (SMP) (after May 2013 and under the Law 4152/13, RES electricity is sold either at SMP or at the average variable cost of thermal power plants, whichever the highest)
- Revenues (or costs) from the settlement of imbalances resulting from RES production
- Payments from the electricity suppliers on the non-interconnected islands to HEDNO for the production of RES based on the average variable costs of conventional units on the islands
- Revenues from the auctioning of greenhouse gas emission allowances
- Special fee of 2 €/MWh for electricity produced by lignite
- Special Fee for the Reduction of Greenhouse Gases Emissions (ETMEAR)
The ETMEAR which is collected through electricity bills varies between different categories of final consumers. The ETMEAR has been increased several times since 2011 when it stood at 1.84 €/MWh. With the last decision of RAE in December 2015, the ETMEAR has been calculated with a weighted average of 18.13 €/MWh. The level of ETMEAR is further differentiated according to the different categories of electricity consumers (see table below).
Until the end of 2013, the RES Special Account had reached a deficit of almost 550 m€ (an increase of 209 m€ compared to 2012) which was supposed to increase to 740 m€ by the end of 2014 if no further measures were taken. This deficit was mainly due to the large number of PV systems installed between the second semester of 2011 and the first semester of 2013 that have benefitted from very high FIT tariffs. These systems have considerably increased the outflows of the RES Special Account without corresponding inflows being provided for. Between 2012 and 2014, a series of measures were taken by the Greek government, including a revision of the FIT for already operating RES projects in the context of Law 4254/2014. These measures have led to a reduction of the deficit in the RES Special Account from 550 m€ at the end of 2013 to 190 m€ at the end of 2014. The financial sustainability of the RES Special Account has proven to be a major factor for the investment security in the Greek RES sector.
| Customer Category |
ETMEAR (€/MWh) | |
| 2014-2015 |
2016 | |
| Households/Residential LV |
26.3 |
24.87 |
| Agricultural LV |
11.39 |
10.69 |
| Agricultural MV |
10.83 |
10.12 |
| Other LV |
30.89 |
28.21 |
| Other MV |
12.77 |
10.12 |
| MV above 13 GWh |
2.31 |
2.48 |
| HV |
2.23 |
2.41 |
Specific Strategies
National Action Plan 20-20-20 [4]
According to the EU Directive 2009/28/EC, Greece has to achieve a target of 18% renewable energy sources (RES) in gross final energy consumption by 2020 and this target has been increased to 20% (Law 3851/2010). The overall target is broken down further into sub-targets of 40% RES in gross electricity consumption, 20% RES in final energy consumption for heating and cooling, and 10% RES in final energy consumption for transport until 2020.
In line with the third progress report on the promotion and use of energy from renewable sources in Greece which was submitted under Article 22 of Directive 2009/28/EC to the European Commission in April 2016, the latest figures for the share of RES in gross final energy consumption indicate that Greece is on track for reaching its national RES targets for 2020. This is mainly due to the over-achievement of the sub-target related to heating and cooling, resulting mainly from an increasing use of biomass for heating, in particular on the level of the residential sector.
Specifically, in the last five years, a significant increase in the use of biomass has been observed due to the final consumers’ shift to biomass as a cheaper fuel to meet their heating needs and the consequences of the economic recession in the households’ income. Nevertheless, the consumed quantities of biomass in households decreased by 9% in 2014 compared with the corresponding 2012 levels. Moreover, solar thermal systems have steadily attained an important position in RES applications for domestic hot water production, while the penetration of heat pumps for space heating has exhibited a significant growth rate in the last two years leading to an increase of 65% in 2014 compared with 2012.
The penetration of RES for heating already stands at 26.9% in 2014 surpassing even the corresponding indicative target of 20% until 2020, as defined by the NREAP. The utilization of RES for heating purposes increased by 15% between 2012 and 2014. Nevertheless, the target for RES in transport is still far from being achieved. Regarding the penetration of RES in gross final electricity consumption, a significant increase has undoubtedly been observed (34% between 2012 and 2014). Although the total installed capacity surpassed the installed capacity projected in NREAP in 2013, a deceleration was observed in 2014, while the RES electricity mix differed significantly from the NREAP projections with the main share in the RES installed capacity being attained by photovoltaic stations instead of wind farms. In 2014, a RES share of 21.92% of gross final electricity consumption had been achieved, compared to a projection of 25.1% in the NREAP. It is worth mentioning that according to preliminary estimations for 2015, the RES share in gross final electricity consumption has increased to approximately 24.5%, compared to a projection of 27.6% in the NREAP.
Institutional Set-up in the Energy Sector
Ministry of Environment and Energy (YPEN)
The Ministry of Environment and Energy (YPEN) has the responsibility for the definition and implementation of the national energy policy as well as the coordination of the energy sector, including the promotion of renewable energy sources. YPEN supervises a number of public institutions and companies with activities in the renewable energy sector, including RAE, PPC, IPTO, HEDNO and CRES. The responsible organisational unit within YPEN is the General Secretariat for Energy and Climate Change.
Website: http://www.ypeka.gr
Regulatory Authority for Energy (RAE)
The Regulatory Authority for Energy (RAE) is an independent administrative authority, with financial and administrative independence under the supervision of YPEN. RAE monitors the operation of the energy markets, including electricity from RES. It issues opinions on electricity retail tariffs as well as access tariffs to electricity transmission and distribution networks. It is responsible for granting production licenses for electricity generation from RES. RAE also acts as a dispute settlement authority with respect to complaints against transmission or distribution system operators in the electricity sector.
Website: http://www.rae.gr
Operator of the Electricity Market (LAGIE)
LAGIE has the responsibility for the operation of the electricity market according to the mandatory pool model. Fossil fuel and large hydro electricity producers submit their offers to LAGIE that organises the day-ahead market based on these offers. For the case of RES, LAGIE concludes power purchase agreements (PPA) with RES producers based on the current feed-in tariffs (FIT). These FIT are paid from the RES Special Account which is also managed by LAGIE. For the non-interconnected islands, the funds are transferred by LAGIE to HEDNO. Apart from the short term wholesale electricity market, LAGIE also has the responsibility for managing the long term capacity market as well as the imbalance settlement mechanism.
Website: http://www.lagie.gr
Public Power Corporation (PPC/DEI)
The Public Power Corporation (PPC/DEI) Group consists until today of four companies with separate legal and managerial identities: PPC S.A., ADMIE, DEDDIE and PPC Renewables. The PPC Group currently holds assets in lignite mines, power generation, transmission and distribution. PPC S.A. is the biggest power producer and electricity supply company in Greece with approximately 7.4 million customers and a market share of around 98%. PPC’s current power portfolio consists of conventional thermal and hydroelectric power plants accounting for approximately 81% of the total installed capacity in the country. By December 2015, the total installed capacity of PPC generation plants was 10.93 GW. PPC is active in the RES sector through its subsidiary company “PPC Renewables S.A.” (PPCR).
Website: http://www.dei.gr, http://www.lagie.gr
Independent Power Transmission Operator (IPTO/ADMIE)
The Independent Power Transmission Operator (IPTO/ADMIE) S.A. is a wholly owned subsidiary of PPC S.A. that is however independent from its parent company in terms of its management and operation. There are plans for the full ownership unbundling of IPTO in 2014. IPTO has the role of Transmission System Operator (TSO) for the Hellenic Electricity Transmission System and is responsible for system operation, maintenance and development. IPTO is also managing electricity flows on the system, taking into account exchanges with other interconnected systems. It prepares on an annual basis the Hellenic Electricity Transmission System Ten Year Development Plan. It is also responsible for preparing day-ahead forecasts of the load and the RES electricity production as well as the optimisation of the day-ahead schedule.
Website: http://www.admie.gr
Hellenic Electricity Distribution Network Operator (HEDNO/DEDDIE)
The Hellenic Electricity Distribution Network Operator S.A. (HEDNO/DEDDIE) is a wholly owned subsidiary of PPC S.A., that is however independent from its parent company in terms of its management and operation. Its responsibilities are the operation, maintenance and development of the electricity distribution network in Greece. This includes the non-interconnected electricity networks as well as the electricity generation facilities on the Greek islands. On the islands, HEDNO is responsible for concluding power purchase agreements (PPA) with RES producers. HEDNO also manages the access of electricity consumers as well as RES electricity producers to the distribution network.
Website: http://www.deddie.gr
Centre for Renewable Energy Sources and Saving (CRES)
The Centre for Renewable Energy Sources and Saving (CRES) is a national entity for the promotion of renewable energy sources, rational use of energy and energy conservation. It was founded in September 1987 as a public entity which is supervised by YPEKA and has financial and administrative independence. CRES provides advisory services to YPEKA for the definition and implementation of the national renewable energy policy, strategy and planning. It conducts applied research on new energy technologies and provides technical support for the penetration and implementation of these technologies. CRES also implements European, national and international projects for the promotion and market penetration of new energy technologies.
Website: http://www.cres.gr
Renewable energy private sector associations and companies
There are a number of Greek associations representing the private companies that are active in the renewable energy sector. These include the Greek Association of RES Electricity Producers (GAREP), the Hellenic Wind Energy Association (HWEA/ELETAEN), the Hellenic Association of Photovoltaic Companies (HELAPCO), the Hellenic Association of Photovoltaic Energy Producers (SPEF), Greek Solar Industry Association (EBHE), the Hellenic Small Hydro Power Association (HSHA) and the Hellenic Association for the Development of Biomass (HELLABIOM).
Several hundred Greek and international companies are active in the RES sector in Greece. In the photovoltaic sector, a large number of predominantly small and medium companies and individuals (including farmers) operating several projects of different capacity are present. The wind energy sector in Greece is dominated by specialised companies that develop, own and operate a portfolio of wind parks, and in many cases also photovoltaic power stations and small hydro plants. Six companies own and operate wind parks that correspond to almost 70% of the installed capacity.
Greek Association of RES Electricity Producers: http://www.hellascres.gr
Hellenic Wind Energy Association: http://www.eletaen.gr
Hellenic Association of Photovoltaic Companies: http://www.helapco.gr
Hellenic Association of Photovoltaic Energy Producers:http://www.spef.gr
Greek Solar Industry Association: http://www.ebhe.gr
Hellenic Small Hydro Power Association: http://www.microhydropower.gr
Hellenic Association for the Development of Biomass: http://www.hellabiom.gr
Further Information International Energy Agency: Energy Policies of IEA Countries. Greece 2011 Review: http://www.iea.org/publications/freepublications/publication/Greece2011_unsecured.pdf
Invest in Greece: http://www.investingreece.gov.gr/default.asp?pid=36§orID=38&la=1
References
- ↑ Ministry of Environment, Energy and Climate Change: http://www.ypeka.gr/Default.aspx?tabid=225&language=en-US
- ↑ Ministry of Environment, Energy and Climate Change: http://www.ypeka.gr/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=qtiW90JJLYs%3d&tabid=37
- ↑ http://www.rae.gr
- ↑ Ministry of Environment, Energy and Climate Change: http://www.ypeka.gr/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=CEYdUkQ719k%3d&tabid=37
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