The European Commission on Monday approved a Greek scheme with an estimated budget of 341 million euros to support the construction and operation of storage facilities in the country’s electricity system.
The scheme will be partly funded by the Recovery and Resilience Facility (‘RRF’), following the Commission’s positive assessment of the Greek Recovery and Resilience Plan and its adoption by the EU Council.
It aims at allowing a smooth interconnection of an increasing share of wind and solar energy in Greek’s electricity system.
The funds will be used to promote the installation of several energy storage facilities, with a joint capacity of up to 900 MW. The facilities will be connected to the high-voltage network.
The projects will be selected through a bidding process. The award of the contracts should take place before the end of 2023 and the storage facilities should be completed by the end of 2025.
The aid will be granted in two forms, including an investment grant to be paid during the construction phase, and an annual support to be paid during the operations phase of the projects, for a 10-year period.
“The total amount of annual support per beneficiary will be determined in a competitive tender and adjusted through a claw-back mechanism in case the project has excess market revenues from its participation to the market during the operations phase,” said the Commission.
“Increasing available electricity storage capacity in the system is key to make grids more flexible and better prepared for a future in which renewables form the backbone of the decarbonised electricity mix,” said Margrethe Vestager, Executive Vice-President of the European Commission in charge of competition policy.
“The Greek aid measure we have approved today… will contribute to the development of competitive markets for electricity system services, while helping Greece meet its emission reduction targets,” she added.
The Renewable Energy Sources Operator and Guarantees of Origin (Dapeep) of Greece foresees new renewable installations to reach 1,900 MW this year: 950 MW of PV capacities and 910 MW of wind power plants.
