EU approves state aid to Greece for 900 MW in energy storage

The European Commission has approved, under EU state aid rules, Greece’s support package of EUR 341 million for the construction and operation of storage facilities in the electricity system.

The scheme proposal that Greece submitted will promote the establishment of several electricity storage facilities, with a joint capacity of up to 900 MW, connected to the high-voltage network.

Projects will be selected through a transparent and non-discriminatory bidding process, the European Union’s executive arm said.

Contracts should be awarded to the selected projects before the end of 2023 and the storage facilities should be completed by the end of 2025.

The aid will be granted in the form of an investment grant together with annual support

The aid will be granted, cumulatively, in the form of an investment grant, which will be paid during the construction phase of all supported projects, and annual support to be paid during their operation over 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 in the market during the operations phase, according to the commission.

The measure will be partly funded by the Recovery and Resilience Facility, following the regulator’s positive assessment of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan Greece 2.0, and its adoption by the European Council. The measure aims at allowing a smooth integration in the Greek electricity system of an increasing share of renewable energy coming from wind and solar sources.

It will also contribute to the EU’s strategic objectives relating to the European Green Deal.

Vestager: Storage capacity is key to make grids more flexible and better prepared

Electricity storage solutions such as batteries allow excess energy generated during periods of high renewable production to be stored and used later when weather conditions are less favorable.

Batteries, along with other types of electricity storage facilities, are going to become an indispensable component of decarbonized electricity systems.

The European Commission’s Executive Vice-President Margrethe Vestager, in charge of competition policy, said that 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 decarbonized electricity mix.

The Greek aid measure will contribute to the development of competitive markets for electricity system services, while helping Greece meet its emission reduction targets, she pointed out.