July 2, 2018 is when the Greek administration plans to hold its first competitive tender for solar PV and wind power projects under its auction scheme. This one will have wind power and solar power capacity for 300 MW each up for grabs, reported Bloomberg.
This total 600 MW capacity will be tendered annually starting from 2018 to 2020. The two technologies will be made to compete against each other in two auctions of 400 MW each, which will start in 2019. In all, it will lead to procurement of 2.6 GW new renewable energy capacity by 2020.
The July 2018 auction will be open for wind power projects between 3 MW and 50 MW. For solar, there will be two categories, namely less than 1 MW and between 1 MW to 20 MW.
Earlier Greek energy news portal Energy Press had reported that the first round of renewable energy sources auctions may be scheduled for April 2018 with 100 MW capacity tendered annually (see EU Approves Greek Auction Scheme).
Bloomberg quoted Greek Energy Minister George Stathakis as saying that the auctions will encourage renewable energy investments amounting to €2.5 billion to €3 billion ($3 billion to $3.6 billion). Most of this investment is expected to come from wind, said Stathakis. The government plans to auction 2.6 GW of solar and wind power capacity.
Greece, like all EU member states, has a legally binding 2020 renewables target. With the deadline coming closer several EU countries are intensifying their efforts to meet the targets – with solar increasingly becoming the technologies of choice due to its low cost today.