Greece Installed 1.4 GW Solar Capacity In 2022

• Greece installed over 1 GW annual solar PV capacity for the 1st time in 2022  
• Among all renewable energy capacity installations last year, solar PV made up 85% share  
• A total of €1.08 billion investment was reported for new PV projects in the country last year 

With 1.39 GW new solar PV capacity installed in 2022, the Greek solar market met the milestone of exceeding 1 GW in annual deployments for this technology for the 1st time, according to the Hellenic Association of Photovoltaic Companies (HELAPCO).  

Solar PV made up 85% of all new installed renewable energy capacity in the country last year. Deployments improved from the last highest 845 MW in 2021 which the association previously pegged at 838 MW (see Greece Installed 838 MW New Solar In 2021).  

Earlier in August 2023, Greece's Renewable Energy Sources Operator and Guarantees of Origin (DAPEEP) said that the country had installed around 11.3 GW cumulative renewable energy capacity as of end of June 2023. Solar PV capacity grew its share in H1/2023 by 489 MW, taking the total to 5.8 GW (see Greek Renewables Capacity Grows To Over 11 GW).  

Citing market statistics from official sources, HELAPCO says the market for self-consumption system more than doubled annually from 44.6 MW capacity in 2021 to 116 MW in 2022.  

Solar systems between 10 kW and 1 MW capacity hold about 70.9% market share, followed by installations over 1 MW with 21.9% and those up to 10 kW make up 7.2%.  

According to the association, in 2022, €1.08 billion ($1.17 billion) was invested in new PV projects in the country.   

With a cumulative installed solar PV capacity of 5.526 GW at the end of December 2022, this clean energy technology accounted for 13.6% of the country's overall electricity production, and 13.4% of gross electricity consumption.  

"Photovoltaic is by far the most popular power generation technology, with over 60,500 systems of all sizes installed across the country by the end of 2022, a number that is growing rapidly," stated HELAPCO. "It is now also the cheapest power generation technology with the cost of photovoltaic panels having fallen by 90% from 2009 to today." 

Looking at the cost-competitiveness of solar modules that have dropped by 90% since 2009, the Greek government is now eyeing 14.1 GW of PV capacity by 2030 and 34.5 GW by 2050 under its revised National Energy and Climate Plan (NECP) (see Greece Targets 34.5 GW Total PV Capacity By 2050).